{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/22/bennet-hickenlooper-colleagues-challenge-trump-efforts-to-restrict-mail-in-voting/", "Bennet, Hickenlooper, Colleagues Challenge Trump Efforts to Restrict Mail-In Voting", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "261 current and former lawmakers joined together to file amicus brief in SCOTUS Mail-In Voting Case\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, alongside the entire Senate Democratic Caucus and members of the U.S. House of Representatives, filed an amicus brief challenging the legality of President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rule that imposes unconstitutional, unworkable restrictions on mail-in voting, including requiring states to provide a \u201ccitizenship verification list\u201d and attempting to give USPS control over who can vote by mail.\n\n\u201cSince the beginning of his administration, President Trump and congressional Republicans have done everything they can to make our voting system less safe and secure,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cThe Supreme Court must stand firm against this latest unconstitutional attempt to supersede the authority of states and Congress when it comes to our elections, all in an effort to make it harder for Coloradans to cast a vote by mail.\u201d\n\n\u201cMail-in voting is safe, secure, and makes our elections more accessible,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cThe Trump administration continues throwing everything at the wall to restrict the fundamental right of every American to choose their leaders. It\u2019s an unconstitutional, authoritarian attack that we won\u2019t let them get away with.\u201d\n\nColorado\u2019s vote-by-mail system helped produce a voter turnout rate of 71 percent in the 2024 general election, nearly 6 percent higher than the national average. Of these voters, 92.2 percent chose to return a mail ballot.\n\nNationally, nearly one-third of Americans have voted by mail in recent elections \u2014 a voting practice Trump himself used as recently as August 2026, when he voted in Florida\u2019s Republican primary.\n\nIn the court filing, the group argued that Trump\u2019s executive order and USPS\u2019s final rule violate the separation of powers and steal congressional authorities outlined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the States and Congress exclusive authority over administering elections.\n\n\u201cAs current and former legislators, amici took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States \u2014 including its guarantee of the separation of powers,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cThe 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.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers concluded by asserting States\u2019 power to administer elections and Congress\u2019s power to make or alter rules regulating elections, which the Supreme Court itself has described as an \u201coverride\u201d authority. Trump\u2019s illegal attack on this authority is an attempt to disenfranchise people who depend on mail-in ballots to vote.\n\n\u201cThe integrity of our constitutional system depends on each branch keeping to its assigned role,\u201d concluded the lawmakers. \u201cThe Framers set up a two-part system that gave the States default authority to regulate federal elections subject to Congress\u2019s 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.\u201d\n\nU.S. Representative Joe Neguse led the effort in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nBennet and Hickenlooper previously demanded that the USPS abandon this rule and have been staunch opponents of the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to restrict voting rights. Both senators also introduced the Mail and Absentee Voter Protection Act to nullify Trump\u2019s executive order.\n\nBennet is a member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections. In August 2026, Bennet demanded the Trump administration adhere to the National Voter Registration Act\u2019s \u201cquiet period\u201d that prohibits large-scale voter purges within 90 days of an election, pushing back against the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing voter suppression efforts. In April 2026, Bennet introduced the Mail and Absentee Voter Protection Act to block Trump\u2019s illegal and unconstitutional executive order that attacks Coloradans\u2019 ability to cast mail-in ballots. In April 2025, Bennet urged former USPS Postmaster General Doug Tulino to ensure on-time, reliable mail delivery to rural and mountain communities along the Western Slope and to prevent DOGE from exacerbating existing mail delivery issues in Western Slope communities. In June 2024, Bennet called on the USPS to improve mail delivery service for Colorado\u2019s mountain communities.\n\nThe full amicus brief is available HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-23T09:45:16Z", "2026-09-23T09:46:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/22/bennet-hickenlooper-colleagues-challenge-trump-efforts-to-restrict-mail-in-voting/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9621186181902885, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}