,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dcfi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #bb1 #bjbf,mr4 ,padilla 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,ms4 ,alsobrooks1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,hickenlooper1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,kelly1 ,mr4 ,kim1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,warner1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,ms4 ,slotkin1 and ,mr4 ,reed7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to repeal an executive order relating to ,federal elections1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,absentee and ,mail ,voter ,protection ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,article #a1 section #d of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states clearly demonstrates that the power to make or alter any regulations regarding the time1 place1 and manner of elections lies with ,congress and the ,states1 not with the ,president4 7#b7 ,on ,may #bj1 #aiic1 ,president ,william ,j4 ,clinton signed the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7,public ,law #ajc-ca71 which was passed with bipartisan support4 7#c7 ,on ,october #bi1 #bjjb1 ,president ,george ,w4 ,bush signed the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7,public ,law #ajg-beb71 which was passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis4 7#d7 ,the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb established the ,election ,assistance ,commission1 an independent and evenly divided bipartisan agency to assist ,states with new standards and improve election administration4 7#e7 ,neither the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic nor the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb provide any authority for any of the actions directed by ,executive ,order #adcii 7#ia ,fed4 ,reg4 #agabe7 to create ,state citizenship lists for ,federal election purposes based on unreliable ,federal databases or to bar the ,postal ,service from delivering mail ballots unless ,states use lists provided to them or approved by the ,federal ,government4 7#f7 ,pennsylvania and ,new ,jersey enacted some of the earliest laws to allow voting away from home in #ahac and #ahae in the context of the ,war of #ahab and many ,states granted absentee voting for military service members in #ahfd during the ,civil ,war4 ,in the early #bjth century1 ,states such as ,virginia1 ,indiana1 and ,wisconsin enacted absentee voting for several reasons4 ,in #aibd1 ,president ,calvin ,coolidge and ,first ,lady ,grace ,coolidge voted by mail according to ,massachusetts absentee voting procedures from ,washington1 ,,dc4 7#g7 ,all #ej ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and territories allow absentee voting4 ,as of ,march #bb1 #bjbf-- 7,a7 #bh ,states 7,alaska1 ,arizona1 ,florida1 ,georgia1 ,idaho1 ,illinois1 ,iowa1 ,kansas1 ,maine1 ,maryland1 ,massachusetts1 ,michigan1 ,minnesota1 ,montana1 ,nebraska1 ,new ,jersey1 ,new ,mexico1 ,new ,york1 ,north ,carolina1 ,north ,dakota1 ,ohio1 ,oklahoma1 ,pennsylvania1 ,rhode ,island1 ,south ,dakota1 ,virginia1 ,wisconsin1 and ,wyoming7 offer no-excuse absentee voting2 and 7,b7 #h ,states 7,california1 ,colorado1 ,hawaii1 ,nevada1 ,oregon1 ,utah1 ,vermont1 and ,washington7 and the ,district of ,columbia provide universal vote-by-mail4 7#h7 ,more than #bh1jjj1jjj ,americans voted by mail or absentee ballot in #bjaf1 over #ff1jjj1jjj in #bjbj during the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 and over #dh1jjj1jjj ,americans voted by mail in the #bjbd general election4 ,president ,donald ,trump has voted by mail on at least three occasions by his own admission1 including in ,new ,york in #bjah1 ,florida in #bjbj1 and again in ,florida in #bjbf4 7#i7 ,vote by mail has been used successfully and securely by members of the ,united ,states military for many decades and throughout major conflicts4 ,hundreds of thousands of members of the ,united ,states military and ,united ,states citizens living abroad relied on mail-in ballots to cast their vote in #bjbd and the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcja et seq47 requires all #ej ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and the territories of ,american ,samoa1 ,guam1 ,puerto ,rico1 and the ,virgin ,islands to permit covered voters to register to vote absentee1 and requires the ,federal ,government to expedite transmission of completed ballots4 7#aj7 ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,service is an independent establishment governed by a bipartisan ,board of ,governors which has the power to appoint the ,postmaster ,general and exercise postal power1 and cannot regulate or refuse to carry ,state-issued mail ballot envelopes at the direction of the ,president4 7#aa7 ,the ,postal ,service delivered nearly #ajj1jjj1jjj ballots for the ,november #bjbd general election and took extraordinary measures to ensure timely delivery of election mail in #bjbd and will need to take action in the #bjbf election cycle to again ensure timely delivery of election mail1 including ,state-issued mail ballot envelopes4 7#ab7 ,executive ,order #adcii 7#ia ,fed4 ,reg4 #agabe71 issued by ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump on ,march #ca1 #bjbf1 entitled ,ensuring ,citizenship ,verification and ,integrity in ,federal ,elections1 greatly exceeds the authority of the ,executive branch1 is illegal and unconstitutional1 and would disenfranchise tens of millions of ,american voters4 #c4 ,repeal of ,executive ,order 7a7 ,in general ,executive ,order #adcii 7#ia ,fed4 ,reg4 #agabe7 shall have no force or effect4 7b7 ,prohibition on use of funds for similar orders 7#a7 ,in general ,no ,federal funds may be used to implement1 administer1 enforce1 or carry out ,executive ,order #adcii 7#ia ,fed4 ,reg4 #agabe7 or any similar order4 7#b7 ,postal service ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,service may not use any funds1 including funds available under section #bjjc or #bjaa of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 to implement1 administer1 enforce1 or carry out such ,executive order or any similar order4 #d4 ,prohibition on use of funds with respect to certain other activities 7a7 ,national voter registration database ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 no ,federal funds may be used by the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 the ,social ,security ,administration1 the ,department of ,justice1 or any other agency-- 7#a7 to create a national voter registration database or a national citizenship database for ,federal election purposes2 7#b7 to use existing databases or systems to compile citizenship lists for ,federal election purposes2 or 7#c7 to provide for the national collection of ,state voter registration lists or citizenship lists for ,federal election purposes4 7b7 ,mail-,in and absentee ballots ,notwithstanding any other provision of law-- 7#a7 no ,federal funds may be used by the ,department of ,commerce or any other agency-- 7,a7 for any purpose relating to the regulation of mail-in and absentee ballots in ,federal elections2 or 7,b7 to determine the eligibility of a voter to cast a ballot through the mail in ,federal elections2 and 7#b7 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service may not use any funds1 including funds available under section #bjjc or #bjaa of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code-- 7,a7 to regulate the mailability of mail-in and absentee ballots in ,federal elections2 or 7,b7 to determine the eligibility of a voter to cast a ballot through the mail in ,federal elections4 7c7 ,compelling production of ,state voter registration lists ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 no ,federal funds may be used by the ,department of ,justice to bring or continue a civil action against any ,state to compel the production of statewide voter registration lists under section #cjc of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifj 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjgjc71 section #cjc of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc71 or any other ,federal law4 7d7 ,sharing of voter registration lists 7#a7 ,in general ,nothing in section #h of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjejg71 section #dja of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa71 or any other provision of law shall be construed to grant any authority to share statewide voter registration lists between any two ,federal agencies1 or to conduct data matching activities with any such registration lists using any system of records4 7#b7 ,prohibition of funds 7,a7 ,in general ,no ,federal funds may be used by any agency for any activity described in paragraph 7#a74 7,b7 ,postal service ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,service may not use any funds1 including funds available under section #bjjc or #bjaa of title #ci1 ,united ,states ,code1 to carry out any activity described in paragraph 7#a74 7e7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section1 the terms agency and system of records have the meaning given those terms under section #eeb;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,privacy ,act of #aigd74