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This summer was the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act that expanded access to the polls for black voters who were previously disenfranchised. The strength of a democracy is based on voter participation, ensuring all eligible citizens have access to voter registration and face no barriers. This ensures that voters are choosing elected officials that accurately represent their interests at all levels of government. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 addressed post-Reconstruction Era state laws that prohibited many citizens from voting.

In 2013, however, a Supreme Court decision overturned the VRA provision requiring the states to seek approval for changing local voting laws. The result of that decision was predictable. We have seen repeated efforts to make voting more difficult, including limits to online voter registration and same-day registration; restricted access to early voting; stricter voter identification laws; closures of polling locations; and efforts to purge voter rolls.

President Trump has taken further steps to interfere with the voting process. In March of this year, he issued an Executive Order that called for a proposed rule change to the US Code requiring states’ election boards to submit to the United States Postal Service a list of voters who are eligible for mail-in or absentee ballots.

Mail Handlers are in the business of processing the mail, not taking it out of the system. During the 2024 federal elections, over 99 million ballots were processed by the Postal Service. 99.8 percent of ballots were delivered to election officials within a week, and 97.73 percent were delivered within three days.

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