Padilla, Schumer Lead All Senate Democrats to Urge Supreme Court to Block Postal Service Rule Limiting Mail-In Voting

261 Members and former Members file bicameral, bipartisan brief as court order barring Postal Service rule limiting mail voting is being challenged by Trump’s DOJ WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.), along with Representative Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.-25), Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration and Co-Chairs of the House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Assistant Leader Joe Neguse (D-Colo.-02), and Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), led a bicameral amicus brief challenging the legality of President Trump’s Executive Order and U.S. Postal Service rule seeking to exert control over mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The group, made up of a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of 261 lawmakers and former lawmakers, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of State of California, et al. v. United States Postal Service, et al. , a lawsuit brought by a coalition of State Attorneys General against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The court case challenges a final rule issued by the USPS pursuant to Trump’s directive that imposes unconstitutional and unworkable restrictions on mail-in voting, including requiring states to provide a “citizenship verification list” and attempting to give USPS control over who can vote by mail. “The law is clear: states and Congress have authority over our elections — not the President and certainly not the Postal Service. Protecting the right to vote-by-mail is critical to ensure every eligible voter can make their voices heard in the November midterm elections and in future elections,” said Senator Padilla . “Despite the Trump Administration’s attempts to eliminate vote-by-mail and suppress voter participation, voting by mail remains one of the safest and most secure ways to vote, especially for service members, rural voters, and Americans living abroad. I urge the Court to uphold our Constitution and reject Trump’s attacks on our fundamental right to vote.” Nearly one-third of Americans have voted by mail in recent elections — a voting practice Trump himself used as recently as August 2026 , when he voted in Florida’s Republican primary. In the court filing, the amici curiae argue that Trump’s Executive Order 4399 and USPS’s final rule violate the separation of powers and usurp congressional authorities outlined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the States and Congress exclusive authority over election administration. “As current and former legislators, amici took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States — including its guarantee of the separation of powers,” wrote the lawmakers. “ Amici have a particular interest in defending the institutional role of the Legislative Branch under Article I of the Constitution and in vindicating the long-settled principle that the Constitution commits ultimate regulatory authority over federal elections to Congress. The Constitution does not contemplate the Executive Branch acting unilaterally to assert power over federal elections. Yet that is what the Order and Final Rule do.” The amici also pointed to a recent federal court ruling blocking the USPS from implementing its newly finalized mail ballot rule for the midterm elections, saying the agency lacked the authority to implement the rule and that its actions are “ substantively unconstitutional and contrary to law .” “The district court correctly concluded that Appellees are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that USPS lacked authority to issue the Final Rule, that the Final Rule unconstitutionally imposes mail-ballot requirements on the States, and that the Final Rule unconstitutionally bars non-compliant State and local election officials from using the USPS to mail ballots at all,” wrote the lawmakers. The lawmakers concluded by asserting States’ power to administer elections and Congress’s power to make or alter rules regulating elections, which the Supreme Court itself has described as an “ override ” authority. Trump’s illegal incursion on this authority is an attempt to disenfranchise people who depend on mail-in ballots to vote. “The integrity of our constitutional system depends on each branch keeping to its assigned role,” concluded the lawmakers. “The Framers set up a two-part system that gave the States default authority to regulate federal elections subject to Congress’s authority to override the States. The Framers did not provide the President with any authority to interfere in that system, nor has Congress subsequently imbued the President or the Executive Branch with any such authority by statute.” In addition to Padilla, Schumer, Durbin, and Peters, the amicus brief was joined by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus. “Donald Trump is once again asking the highest court in the land to silence voters and destroy the precious integrity of the American electoral process,” said Leader Schumer. “Mail-in voting is proven safe and secure, and Trump’s continued efforts to obstruct America’s free and fair elections are blatant, unconstitutional attempts at interfering with the November midterms. Trump’s message to the American people is clear: he isn’t worried about voter fraud, he’s afraid of voter accountability. I urge the court to uphold the Constitution and reject Trump’s baseless attempt at poisoning our democracy.” “Presidents do not control our elections—the American people do. Today, in a bipartisan agreement, Members defended the constitutional authority of Congress and deliberately chose to protect our elections from executive overreach. Our elections are safe and secure, and we intend to keep them that way. We will not allow USPS to put Americans’ ballots at risk,” said Ranking Member Morelle. “The Constitution is clear that the states and Congress make the rules for federal elections, not the President. Yet, in utter defiance of the Constitution, President Trump is attempting to use the Postal Service to decide who can and cannot receive a ballot just days before mail-in voting begins in some of the states. This is a naked power grab by a historically unpopular President— who himself regularly votes by mail —to inject confusion and chaos into our elections in a last-ditch effort to keep his party in power. It will not work. I’m proud to stand with a strong bipartisan, bicameral group of current and former colleagues in urging the court to continue rejecting this lawless election interference,” said Ranking Member Raskin. As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee and California’s former Secretary of State and chief election officer, Padilla has championed election security and voting rights. Last month, Padilla led 27 of his Senate colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration stop their illegal voter roll purges before election day. In June, Padilla joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in launching the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide. The Task Force will continue meeting over the coming months to ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November. Padilla also convened a Rules Committee Democrats and Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force spotlight forum focused on state and local responses to combat efforts by the Trump Administration to undermine election administration in the upcoming midterm elections. Additionally, Padilla and his Senate colleagues demanded answers from Trump Administration officials about their lack of election security preparation, insufficient coordination with Congress and election officials, and unsupported public claims about voting system vulnerabilities. Earlier this year, Padilla and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led their colleagues in filing an amicus brief in Watson v. Republican National Committee , a landmark mail-in voting case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that states are allowed to count ballots received after Election Day. The full brief is available here . ###