Assembly Democrats Defend California Voting Rights. Republicans Defend Trump’s Election Suppression.

• Nick Miller
• Communications Director
• 916-319-2029
• [email protected]

SACRAMENTO - Assembly Democrats advanced AJR 29 on Monday, a resolution authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman that opposes President Donald Trump's relentless attempts to undermine vote-by-mail and interfere in California's elections by suppressing voters.

Assembly Republicans broadly voted against the resolution, once again siding with Trump over protecting the rights of California voters. Seventeen Assembly Republicans refused to support the resolution, defending Trump's blatant federal overreach, which is designed to restrict access to the ballot box.

The resolution is a direct and forceful response to Trump's March 31 executive order, which seeks to impose federal restrictions on mail-in voting, including by directing the U.S. Postal Service to withhold ballots from voters and imposing new federal requirements on envelopes and tracking systems.

California leaders and voting rights advocates have condemned Trump's order as unconstitutional and an unlawful federal overreach into state-run elections.

"President Trump's Executive Order is an unprecedented and unconstitutional intrusion into state and county election administration in an attempt to erect barriers to voting, potentially disenfranchising millions of voters across America. This is just the latest salvo in President Trump's all-out assault on our democracy. Free and fair elections are the foundation of our fragile democracy, and when the federal government oversteps its constitutional authority to undermine our elections, California must push back. AJR 29, which passed the Assembly with bipartisan support today, puts California on the record in opposing the Executive Order and calls on Congress to protect the rights of states to offer this safe, secure, and reliable voting option for their citizens." - Assemblymember Marc Berman

The resolution also calls out Trump's hypocrisy after he personallyvoted by mail in Florida the same month he issued the executive order attacking the practice nationwide.

Assembly Democrats warned that attacks on vote-by-mail are part of a broader, national Republican effort to spread disinformation about election integrity and justify new barriers to voting despite no evidence of widespread fraud. Courts and election experts have repeatedly rejected those claims.

How California Democrats are Standing-Up for Voter Rights

California has one of the most secure and accessible vote-by-mail systems in the nation, with signature verification, ballot tracking, and robust safeguards to protect election integrity.

There have been numerous studies proving claims of widespread voter fraud are a myth - including the Brookings Institution, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the UCLA Voting Rights Project, to name just a few. No amount of partisan messaging will change that California's elections are safe and secure, including voting by mail.

AJR 29 reaffirms California's commitment to free, fair, and accessible elections and rejects federal attempts to restrict voting rights or undermine confidence in the democratic process.

By refusing to support AJR 29, Assembly Republicans aligned themselves with continued attacks on vote-by-mail despite overwhelming evidence that California's elections are secure, accurate, and fair.