Story perspectives

Congress Bills Block Trump's Mail-Ballot Order as Voter Errors Surface

5/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Congress introduced Vote by Mail Protection Act to block President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order and bar federal funding for it.
Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have sued, saying the order would disenfranchise millions; a similar case proceeds in Boston.
The DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) misidentified voters as noncitizens in a Texas county at a 14% error rate, raising doubts about citizenship list’s accuracy.

History

Historical Context

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, guaranteeing absentee ballots for military and overseas Americans. A 1988 executive order placed administration with the Defense Department’s Federal Voting Assistance Program, later amended by the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which allocated $380 million for voting machines after 2000 election controversy. Current debates over mail-in voting echo those earlier reforms.

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Story summary

Congress introduced Vote by Mail Protection Act to block President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order and bar federal funding for it.
Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have sued, saying the order would disenfranchise millions; a similar case proceeds in Boston.
The DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) misidentified voters as noncitizens in a Texas county at a 14% error rate, raising doubts about citizenship list’s accuracy.

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