Defend State and Congressional Authority Over Elections: No President May Rewrite Voting Rules
Dear Senators Padilla and Schiff,
I am writing as a California constituent to urge you to defend a basic principle of our Constitution: elections are run by the states and regulated by Congress, not by the President.
The Elections Clause of Article I gives state legislatures the primary role in setting the times, places and manner of federal elections. It gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to make or alter those rules. The Constitution gives the President no such power. Yet on March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order that would limit mail ballots to voters on lists approved by the federal government and threatened election officials with prosecution and loss of federal funds if they did not comply.
California joined a coalition of states that sued, and a federal court in Massachusetts blocked the order for the November 3, 2026 election in the plaintiff states. Days later, in Watson v. RNC, the Supreme Court refused to read into federal law a ballot-receipt rule that Congress never wrote. If the Court will not add words to a statute, a President cannot add them by decree.
Millions of Californians vote by mail and plan around rules set by our state and counties. Changing who gets a ballot, or whose ballot counts, in the final weeks of an election would invite chaos and disenfranchise lawful voters. If federal election rules need to change, Congress must change them openly, through legislation, with time for states to prepare.
I ask that you:
(1) publicly oppose any presidential attempt to dictate how states run federal elections;
(2) support oversight and funding conditions that prevent federal agencies, including the Postal Service, from carrying out such orders; and
(3) support legislation reaffirming state and congressional authority over elections and protecting every eligible voter’s ballot.
Thank you for defending the Constitution and California voters. Please respond with your position.
For Trump filing frivolous lawsuits is his way of doing business. He does it to intimidate, wait you out and cost you a lot of money in legal fees. He never expects to win the suit.
Make non-relevant lawsuits meaningful (worth listening to) or chuck them out. We don’t need any waste of our own of time, effort or trouble to spend out focus on.
Constituent letter example:
Defend State and Congressional Authority Over Elections: No President May Rewrite Voting Rules
Dear Senators Padilla and Schiff,
I am writing as a California constituent to urge you to defend a basic principle of our Constitution: elections are run by the states and regulated by Congress, not by the President.
The Elections Clause of Article I gives state legislatures the primary role in setting the times, places and manner of federal elections. It gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to make or alter those rules. The Constitution gives the President no such power. Yet on March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order that would limit mail ballots to voters on lists approved by the federal government and threatened election officials with prosecution and loss of federal funds if they did not comply.
California joined a coalition of states that sued, and a federal court in Massachusetts blocked the order for the November 3, 2026 election in the plaintiff states. Days later, in Watson v. RNC, the Supreme Court refused to read into federal law a ballot-receipt rule that Congress never wrote. If the Court will not add words to a statute, a President cannot add them by decree.
Millions of Californians vote by mail and plan around rules set by our state and counties. Changing who gets a ballot, or whose ballot counts, in the final weeks of an election would invite chaos and disenfranchise lawful voters. If federal election rules need to change, Congress must change them openly, through legislation, with time for states to prepare.
I ask that you:
(1) publicly oppose any presidential attempt to dictate how states run federal elections;
(2) support oversight and funding conditions that prevent federal agencies, including the Postal Service, from carrying out such orders; and
(3) support legislation reaffirming state and congressional authority over elections and protecting every eligible voter’s ballot.
Thank you for defending the Constitution and California voters. Please respond with your position.
Sincerely,
For Trump filing frivolous lawsuits is his way of doing business. He does it to intimidate, wait you out and cost you a lot of money in legal fees. He never expects to win the suit.
Their desperation is driving them to do things they know are inappropriate but they will keep trying. Idiots
0 for 26 and they’re trying again!? Wasting taxpayer money AND judicial resources?
They need to be held accountable. The LAWYERS, personally. Otherwise, it’s back on the taxpayer.
Judicial Abuse: every psychopaths tool in their toolbox.
All of these lawsuits from Trump are a huge waste of taxpayer money! Enough already!
Make non-relevant lawsuits meaningful (worth listening to) or chuck them out. We don’t need any waste of our own of time, effort or trouble to spend out focus on.