Senators Push Back Against Trump’s Illegal Assault on Vote-by-Mail with New Bill

A bipartisan group of 38 senators, spearheaded by John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet, and Alex Padilla, has introduced the Mail and Absentee Voter Protection Act to counter President Trump’s illegal executive order that attacks vote-by-mail systems nationwide. This move comes in direct response to Senate Democrats blocking the SAVE America Act, Trump’s voter suppression bill designed to undermine mail-in voting.

Trump’s March 31 executive order attempts to rewrite federal election rules by forcing the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security to decide who can cast ballots by mail—an unprecedented and unconstitutional power grab. The new bill seeks to nullify that executive order and block any similar future attempts.

“This president’s efforts to rig the election and attack our right to vote are illegal,” said Senator Hickenlooper, who helped create Colorado’s widely praised mail-in voting system. In Colorado, 98% of voters cast ballots by mail in 2025, including a large majority of Republicans. Under Hickenlooper’s leadership, Colorado also pioneered bipartisan statewide audits proving vote-counting accuracy above 99.99%.

Senator Bennet called Trump’s order “an insult to anyone who believes in the rule of law,” emphasizing the need to protect voting rights for all Americans regardless of party. Senator Padilla condemned Republicans focused on making voting harder instead of addressing real issues like ending wars and improving American lives.

The bill includes provisions to:

• Block the DOJ and DHS from sharing state voter lists
  
• Defund DOJ efforts to force states to produce voter data
  
• Enforce the Privacy Act to prevent improper sharing of voter information
  
• Defund Commerce Department attempts to regulate mail ballots for partisan purposes
  

This legislation is part of a broader fight to defend democratic norms against authoritarian overreach. Hickenlooper also supports other key voting rights bills like the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The stakes are clear: Trump’s illegal moves threaten to disenfranchise millions, but this new bill aims to stop him in his tracks.

Read the full text of the bill here.