The Hill: Senate Democrats press Postal Service to reject Trump mail-in voting order
By Sophie Brams
Dozens of Senate Democrats are calling on the U.S. Postal Service not to comply with President Trump’s executive order that restricts mail-in voting.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) demanded in a Monday letter to the Postal Service that it “follow the law and not implement” the order, which it cast as a “blatant violation of the Constitution and statutes governing postal operations.”
“Like the President, the Postal Service has no authority to regulate the manner of voting in federal elections, nor who is eligible to vote by mail in such elections,” senators wrote.
The letter, signed by 37 Democratic senators in total, was first reported by Reuters.
The order, signed earlier this month, directs Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of verified U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.
It bars the U.S. Postal Service from sending ballots to those not on the state’s approved mail-in ballot list and requires ballots to be secured in envelopes with barcodes for tracking.
More than 20 Democratic-led states quickly sued in an attempt to block the order from taking effect. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also filed a separate lawsuit alongside the Democratic National Committee and other party organizations.
Senators argued in their letter that Trump “is attempting to unconstitutionally consolidate power to personally regulate American elections,” warning that his order could disenfranchise voters.
“These directives clearly infringe on the states’ and Congress’ constitutional role to regulate the manner in which federal elections are held and would deny eligible voters their ability to cast a ballot,” they wrote.
Trump has sought in his second term to use his authority to exert more control over federal elections, often claiming that practices such as mail-in voting contributed to widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election despite a lack of supporting evidence.
Ahead of the November midterms, he has called for nationalizing elections and pressured Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show photo identification when voting in federal elections and provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register.
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