Republicans in Congress are pressing to effectively ban mail-in voting, following President Trump’s exhortation to do away with a practice that he says is “rigged” but that has become increasingly common in U.S. elections and is the chief method of voting in multiple states.
The Republican-written voter identification measure that passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate could place severe limits on mail-in voting. But a proposal by a bloc of hard-right Republicans would go even further, by prohibiting universal vote-by-mail with narrow exceptions for military service, travel, disability, and medical issues and other hardships.
Neither has a clear path to passage, with Democrats solidly opposed and even some Republicans balking at the added restrictions on voting by mail. But with the president and his allies in Congress pressing for it, many G.O.P. lawmakers have enthusiastically taken up the cause.
“The preference is for in-person voting,” said Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican of Missouri and the chief proponent of the crackdown on voting by mail. Echoing Mr. Trump, who blames the mail-in voting for his 2020 election loss, Mr. Schmitt said the practice was “ripe for fraud,” adding: “We want to make sure elections are secure. We want to make sure people believe what happens on election night is the final result.” He said his proposal would reserve absentee voting “for people with real needs.”
The plan, if added to the broader election legislation that underwent its second day of Senate scrutiny on Wednesday, would supersede other proposed requirements on voting by mail included in that measure. Those would require individuals voting by mail to enclose copies of their photo identification both in their request for a ballot and with their completed ballot.
Democrats opposed to the legislation say that plan is impractical and is a backdoor way of eliminating voting by mail, while Mr. Schmitt’s plan takes a more overt approach to abolishing the practice. They note that voters in both political parties widely use the option of mail-in voting, which is available in the vast majority of states, including some with Republican majorities.
“No more vote by mail,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader. “Many red states love vote-by-mail, and yet MAGA radicals want to eliminate it almost entirely.”
The proposal to end widespread mail voting would present a particular challenge in eight states that allow it almost exclusively, including Utah, the home state of Senator Mike Lee, the chief Senate Republican proponent of the legislation. He said he believed that his state could cope with the change if the legislation became law.
“People are able to adjust,” Mr. Lee said. “Like most states, it hasn’t been that long since we didn’t have widespread use of de facto universal mail-in balloting. We could do it again.”
Besides universal voting by mail, dozens more states have adopted no-excuse absentee voting that allows people to mail in their ballots without providing a justification, as used to be required when absentee voting was less routine.
The mail issue has split Senate Republicans as some have maintained that the practice is popular and a major convenience to voters in their states, with benefits for Republicans.
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, backs the underlying legislation that requires state-approved identification to vote and proof of citizenship to register. But she said she would not be able to back Mr. Schmitt’s plan if it were to come to a vote, because of the restrictions on absentee ballots.
“I represent the state with the oldest population in the country, and many of the seniors vote by mail-in ballots,” Ms. Collins said. “It is often not feasible for them to drive to the polls. The weather may be bad, the distance may be too long, it might just be too difficult. I don’t want to make it burdensome for them to be able to vote.”
Democrats in states that rely on voting by mail said it was embraced by voters of all political persuasions.
“Vermonters love mail-in voting — that includes Republicans, Democrats and independents,” said Senator Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont. “Nearly 64 percent of Vermonters rely on it, and fraud is not an issue. Losing mail-in voting inconveniences all of our voters and inevitably will lower participation rates at the voting booth.”
Members of both parties took to the floor on Wednesday to make their arguments for and against the voting proposal in what is expected to be a debate into at least next week. Democrats said the issue was not whether voters should be required to present identification, which they say they support, but rather what the requirements were for the type of I.D., along with how people can prove their citizenship. They see the voting legislation as a Republican subterfuge to make it more difficult to vote and to lower turnout in hopes of boosting Republican candidates.
“You should have to prove that you are who you say you are before you vote — that’s basic,” said Senator Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia. “But that’s not what this is about. This is about onerous voter I.D. requirements used as a pretext and as a tool for voter suppression.”
Republicans portrayed the legislation — and Mr. Schmitt’s alternative, which also includes a prohibition on men playing in women’s sports and limits on transgender surgeries — as containing provisions that are widely supported by the public.
“Why would Democrat senators oppose this?” asked Senator Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee. “Why would anybody oppose common-sense legislation like this when the vast majority of Americans want to support it? It is a daunting question.”
The legislation currently does not have a path to passage, since Democrats are united against it and Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican majority leader, has said he will not move to weaken the filibuster to allow the measure to advance with fewer than 60 votes. But its backers said the Senate should remain focused on the bill until they have devised a way to win its approval.
Mr. Lee said that a failure to push as hard as possible could end up prompting a political backlash against Republicans.
“I think it would be a suicidal move for us as Senate Republicans, for Republicans in general, if we don’t put everything we have got into this,” Mr. Lee said.
Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital.
The post Following Trump, Republicans in Congress Propose to Ban Most Voting by Mail appeared first on New York Times.
