At Roundtable Celebrating John Lewis’ Legacy, Cantwell Calls Out Trump Admin Attacks on Vote-By-Mail: “We Will Not Be Intimidated.”

07.16.26 At Roundtable Celebrating John Lewis’ Legacy, Cantwell Calls Out Trump Admin Attacks on Vote-By-Mail: “We Will Not Be Intimidated.” Near anniversary of Rep. Lewis’ passing, faith leaders & voting rights advocates honor his legacy as a champion of free & fair elections; Forum held ahead of President Trump’s speech tonight, where he’s expected to once again challenge America’s free and fair elections WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a roundtable forum with religious leaders, voting rights advocates, and her Senate colleagues to honor the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis before tomorrow’s 6th anniversary of his passing, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell hammered on the Trump Administration’s ongoing attacks on vote-by-mail in the United States. “Who would have thought that at our 250th birthday, that is what we would have to deal with, but it is,” Sen. Cantwell said. “ And there are people that don't want to move our country forward. They're trying to hold us back. I'm part of a task force with Senator Schumer, and many of you, to try to figure out how we're going to be ready to fight . Me personally, I am all in.” She continued: “I'll be damned if I'm going to let them blow up ballot boxes in our state. When they blew up ballot boxes with bombs to discourage some of the most active Democratic areas from casting their vote, I went to Vancouver, Washington, and said, ‘We will not be intimidated.’ We have Republicans, and people who now are former Republicans, saying they will join the fight.” Video of the full roundtable forum is HERE ; a transcript and link to video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is HERE . Photos are HERE . Sen. Cantwell has been a stalwart defender against overreach of the Trump administration into our elections, which has sought to impermissibly seize control of election administration from the states. Her other actions include: On July 2, she sent a letter to the Postmaster General about the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) proposed illegal rule to implement President Trump’s March 31 executive order to interfere with vote-by-mail. Sen. Cantwell’s letter specifically noted the recent decisions of multiple federal courts that found Trump’s executive order unconstitutional and enjoined the USPS from implementing the proposed rule – including in a case brought by the NAACP – and demanded the USPS comply with those court orders. On June 29, she celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee against an effort to stop states from counting mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day, even if they’ve been postmarked in time. The case, brought by the Republican National Committee, threatened the election administration practices of states like Washington. On June 24, Sen. Cantwell co-sponsored the Right To Vote Act , legislation to create the first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all eligible citizens. On June 24, she also denounced President Trump’s announcement that he would not sign the 21 st Century Road to Housing Act – an overwhelmingly popular, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate earlier in the week to increase housing supply and bring down housing costs – until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. That legislation, which Trump has repeatedly demanded, would eliminate vote-by-mail and impose onerous new restrictions on voting and registering to vote. It would disenfranchise millions of Americans in the name of a voter fraud “crisis” that, even by the standards of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, straightforwardly does not exist . President Trump again demanded Congress pass the restrictive bill following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee . Despite President Trump’s refusal to sign the bipartisan housing bill, it became law on July 11, since he failed to act on the bill within the time period prescribed by the Constitution after Congress sent him the legislation. On June 23, she joined the entire Democratic Caucus in sending a letter to the USPS demanding it abandon attempts to restrict voting by mail called for by President Trump in his illegal and unconstitutional March 31 executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots. On June 23, she also delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling out the Trump Administration’s war on mail-in voting as the latest frontier in a long history of voter disenfranchisement in the United States. On June 17, she joined several of her Senate Democratic colleagues for a spotlight forum highlighting President Donald Trump’s illegal overreach into our free and fair elections. On June 8, she joined 23 of her Senate colleagues in demanding answers over the Trump Administration’s decision to remove the most recent version of the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses manual from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website without explanation. On April 29, she was tapped by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to join a task force of senators defending our elections from interference. On April 23, she joined colleagues in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act to protect the right to vote by mail and block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional March 31 executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots. On April 22, she sent a letter to the USPS warning the agency against complying with the executive order, which would undermine mail-in voting. On April 1, after the executive order on mail-in voting was announced, she issued a statement in opposition. On March 18, she convened a group of current and former elected officials and representatives of nonpartisan voter advocacy groups for a virtual press conference on defending voter access. Video of that entire virtual press conference is HERE ; video of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE ; and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE . On March 15, she issued a snapshot report showing that the SAVE America Act – the voter suppression bill President Trump has continued to demand Congress pass – would cost Washington state taxpayers more than $35 million this year alone. On Feb. 24, Sen. Cantwell invited Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs as her guest to President Trump’s State of the Union address to draw attention to the issue . On Feb. 20, she convened local leaders in Seattle for a press conference urging Washingtonians to fight back against these proposed new burdens to voting. On Feb. 19, she gathered in Vancouver with the Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey and local chapter heads of the League of Women Voters and the NAACP for a press conference on how the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise voters. Also on Feb. 19, she released a snapshot report showing who in Washington would face undue hurdles to voting if the SAVE America Act were signed into law. The report shows that certain populations – including people who live in rural areas, women who changed their name after marriage, and people who recently moved – would face additional, cumbersome burdens to prove their citizenship. On Feb. 5, she appeared on MSNOW’s Morning Joe to push back against the Trump administration’s heightened efforts to interfere in state-run elections and collect private data on American voters. Video of Sen. Cantwell’s appearance is HERE ; a transcript is HERE . On Jan. 29, Sen. Cantwell joined Senate colleagues in a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, pushing DOJ to stop its unlawful pressure campaign to coerce dozens of states into providing the Trump Administration their voter rolls, which include voters’ personally identifiable information. DOJ has sued 24 states – including Washington state – and the District of Columbia demanding the personal information of their voters. On Jan. 15, she joined Senate colleagues in a letter to USPS Postmaster General David Steiner raising concerns with recent developments affecting postmark practices. Right before the holiday season, USPS changed its postmark practices, which could have significant impacts on voters nationwide and in Washington state – including rural voters, military and overseas voters, and many others who rely on rely on the mail to safely and securely cast their ballot. On Jan. 9, she joined 13 Senate colleagues in filing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in the case Watson v. Republican National Committee . The case, brought by the Republican National Committee, threatened the election administration practices of states like Washington that permit mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day to be counted when they are received within a certain number of days after Election Day. Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article