More than 158 million Americans cast a ballot in the 2024 election, and nearly one in three did so by mail.

Nothing about that should be controversial because voting by mail is safe, secure and deeply rooted in American history. Generations of voters have relied on absentee and mail-in ballots to make their voices heard — from Union soldiers during the Civil War, to Japanese Americans held in detention camps during the Second World War, to astronauts in space, to seniors, rural Americans, working parents and people with disabilities. And California — the first state in the nation to allow any registered voter who chooses to vote by mail without needing to provide a reason — has allowed voters to cast their ballots absentee since 1978.

Now that right is under attack.

On March 31, just days after casting his own ballot by mail in a Florida special election, President Donald Trump signed an executive order attacking vote by mail and absentee voting nationwide.

The president’s order also attempts to create federal lists of who his administration considers “eligible voters,” which will be given to states and enforced by the U.S. Postal Service, weaponizing the USPS in ways that would interfere with the delivery of eligible Americans’ ballots. That’s right. Under this order, if states don’t comply with Trump’s demands, the USPS won’t deliver absentee ballots of eligible voters in that state — meaning legally cast votes could go undelivered and uncounted.

Not only is that dangerous and unconstitutional, it is profoundly un-American.

Immediately after Trump’s executive order was announced, more than 20 states and multiple organizations challenged it in court. They are right to do so, and we believe these states will prevail for the same reason the courts rejected the president’s earlier attempts to seize authority over our elections. Because the Constitution is clear: States and Congress set the rules for federal elections — not the president.

But Americans should not have to rely solely on the courts to protect their right to vote from a reckless president — especially with primaries and special elections already underway ahead of November’s midterms. Congress must do the right thing and act now to protect Americans’ fundamental right to vote.

One way to do that would be through the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act. This is a bill that will negate Trump’s executive order and any similar actions, ensuring eligible voters can continue to cast their ballots safely and securely through the mail, free from political interference.

It’s important to recognize, though, that this latest executive order did not come out of thin air. It is part of a broader campaign to undermine confidence in our elections and restrict access to the ballot box.

We have all heard ad nauseum the false claims and “the Big Lie” surrounding the 2020 election. The same claims that Trump’s FBI used to justify the seizure of ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and that the Justice Department is now using in Wayne County, Mich. Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor in California, also called on “the Big Lie” as a basis for his illegal seizure of ballots from Riverside County. We have also watched repeated efforts to pressure states, purge voter rolls, impose unnecessary barriers to registration and make it harder for eligible citizens to vote through efforts like the so-called SAVE America Act.

Now the target is absentee voting and vote by mail — one of the most successful and widely used tools for democratic participation in modern America.

The irony is impossible to ignore: It’s very popular among Republicans in Florida and elsewhere, and Trump has repeatedly voted by mail himself. It’s good enough and safe enough for him, but not for the rest of America. He trusts the system when it serves him but attacks it when millions of others might use it to threaten his power.

History teaches us something important about these efforts.

Throughout our nation’s history, each generation has fought to expand the franchise — from women’s suffrage to the Voting Rights Act to the National Voter Registration Act. Again and again, Americans have rejected attempts to limit participation and silence voters.

And that lesson of resistance is universal. In fact, we just saw it in Hungary’s national election when voters turned out in overwhelming numbers after 16 years of eroding democratic norms to remove an autocratic leader and his party from power.

When people sense their rights are threatened, they organize. They speak out. And they vote.

That is exactly why attacks on vote by mail are so misguided. Trump can spread distrust. Trump can sign executive orders. Trump can try to rig the rules in your favor. But he cannot stop Americans from participating in their democracy.

Voting by mail is not a loophole. It is not a vulnerability. It is a strength — one that has allowed millions of Americans to participate in our democracy who otherwise might not be able to.

And Congress needs to do everything in its power to protect it.

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Sen. Alex Padilla represents California and serves as ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which oversees elections. Brian Lemek is executive director of Defend the Vote and Defend the Vote Action Fund.

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