Peters Speaks on Senate Floor Against President Trump’s Executive Order to Manipulate Federal Elections and Undermine Americans’ Right to Vote

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, took to the Senate floor to oppose an executive order signed by President Trump last month to make sweeping, unconstitutional changes that would place unprecedented new restrictions on Americans' fundamental right to vote. The order illegally requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine who is eligible to vote in elections and requires the United States Postal Service (USPS) to determine whether voters are allowed to vote by mail - authorities that the Constitution specifically delegates to state governments. The order will undermine Americans' right to vote and choose their own elected leaders by imposing unnecessary barriers and potentially having eligible U.S. citizens erroneously purged from voter rolls.

"There's no question this order is an attack on the right to vote, and it goes against the very heart of the free and fair elections that make our nation a strong democratic republic," said Senator Peters. "There is no authority for the President or the Executive Branch to make sweeping changes to our elections. The founders designed it that way precisely to ensure that no single leader, especially one as powerful as a president, could hold sway over the outcome of those elections. To be clear, in our country, the voters choose their leaders. Leaders do not have the power to choose their voters."

To watch video of Peters' speech on the Senate floor, click here.

Peters highlighted how President Trump's executive order directs DHS and the Social Security Administration to use data the government itself has admitted is inaccurate to create new lists that determine who is eligible to vote, even though every state already determines whether people who register are eligible to vote. Peters noted that there are very few instances of election fraud or non-citizen voting that the order allegedly targets, and that those instances are appropriately prosecuted when they occur.

Peters also discussed how the order weaponizes the non-partisan and independent Postal Service to play a completely unprecedented role in determining which voters are eligible to vote-by-mail, a policy that is also managed by state elections offices.

Peters continued: "The Postal Service doesn't care which politicians you may support, its only priority is to deliver the mail to every community in the country. The President is now trying to corrupt this mission. If the President is successful in forcing the Postal Service to play a role in running elections, he will completely erode the trust of this storied institution."

Peters also emphasized that vote-by-mail is a safe and secure way for voters to?participate in our democracy: "Millions of Americans, including President Trump, use this method to exercise their right to vote," he continued. "American elections have a long history of being free, fair and secure, and vote-by-mail is a key part of ensuring more Americans can participate in our democracy."

Peters closed his speech by underscoring the need to protect America's tradition of free and fair elections, urging all Americans, regardless of partisan affiliation, to condemn efforts by the Trump Administration to restrict this fundamental right in our democracy.

"The President's executive order, and the SAVE Act Republicans are trying to pass through Congress, are basically nothing more than an effort to undermine the security and the integrity of our electoral process. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues, and every American, to stand up to this illegal power grab and help protect the core values that have always made our nation great," Peters concluded.

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