Senate Democrats Push Back On Trump’s Executive Order Attacking Vote-By-Mail

In Letter To Acting AG Blanche, Leader Schumer And Senators Durbin, Padilla, And Peters Lead Democrats In Encouraging DOJ To Refocus On Protecting Voters And Access To Ballot Box, As Well As Requesting Production Of Any Opinions, Correspondence, Or Documents Related To Trump's Latest EO

Washington, D.C. - Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led a group of 24 Senate Democrats in pushing back on President Trump's executive order attacking vote-by-mail.

The March 31 Executive Order (EO) titled "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections" has been widely condemned as unconstitutional, and voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit challenging it on April 2. If the President's executive order is implemented in place of current federal law, it will prevent eligible voters from exercising their fundamental right to vote.

In a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators wrote: "[This EO] is another attempt by the President to exceed the constitutional authorities granted to the Executive Branch concerning federal elections. Given the clearly unconstitutional nature of this EO, the Department of Justice (DOJ) should take no steps pursuant to the EO that violate the law and risk disenfranchising eligible voters. We further request that DOJ provide us with all legal opinions drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), and any other DOJ correspondence or documents concerning any claims regarding the legality of the EO, including any communications between senior DOJ officials and the Department of Commerce."

The Senators continued, citing Trump's own use of vote-by-mail: "For over a decade, the President has sought to sow doubt in our electoral system, baselessly attempting to make the case that the only secure elections are those that he wins. This behavior is not only unbefitting of his office, but also hypocritical."

The Senators further wrote, citing the EO's unconstitutionality and vulnerabilities: "Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution clearly indicates that states have the primary authority over election administration. Nonetheless, President Trump has repeatedly sought to restrict access to the ballot under the guise of election security… Taken together, the foreseeable result of these directives is that tens of thousands of eligible U.S. citizen voters will be disenfranchised."

The Senators highlighted the disruption this would cause not only to voters, but also the ongoing gutting of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division: "Besides the disruption it would cause for mail-in voters, the President's order would also further corrupt the mission of the DOJ Civil Rights Division to protect civil rights and ensure that all eligible voters are able to exercise their right to vote. Since January 2025, DOJ has been gutted-morally and physically. Within one year, the Civil Rights Division lost 75 percent of its attorneys, and it has been reported that 55 major civil rights cases concerning racial gerrymandering and police misconduct were closed as the Division prioritized Second Amendment and anti-trans cases. More broadly, DOJ seems wholly disinterested in enforcing the law, dropping an estimated 23,000 criminal investigations in the first six months of President Trump's second Administration to focus on immigration enforcement."

The Senators concluded with a condemnation of this effort before making a request for document production: "DOJ should reprioritize protecting the ability of all eligible voters to fairly and accessibly exercise their fundamental right to vote. Protecting civil rights was a foundational purpose for establishing DOJ, and ensuring legal access to voting remains a key responsibility of DOJ leadership. As such, we urge you to ensure that the Department does not implement this unlawful executive order."

In addition to Leader Schumer, Durbin, Padilla, and Peters the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

This week, Senate Democrats launched an elections task force aimed at examining threats that Republicans and adversaries could launch against American democracy and mobilizing the Senate and other bodies to mitigate them. The task force also includes top election law officials, like former AG Eric Holder and Marc Elias of the Elias Law Group, and will meet over the coming months to ensure U.S. elections remain free and fair.

Schumer, Peters, Padilla, and Durbin previously led their Democratic colleagues in demanding the United States Postal Service (USPS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) follow existing federal law over the March 31 Executive Order signed by President Trump, which violates the Constitution and risks disenfranchising eligible voters. The executive order, which has been challenged in the courts, would require DHS to create eligible voter lists, which the federal government does not have the authority to do, and would turn the Postal Service into an election administrator and regulator, when it is supposed to be a nonpartisan agency whose only priority is to deliver the mail.

For a PDF of the letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, click here.

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