April 1 (legislative day, March 31), 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. King, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Reed, Mr. Booker, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Welch, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Whitehouse, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
To repeal an executive order relating to Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Defending America’s Future Elections Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
(1)
Article 1, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States clearly demonstrates the time, place, and manner of elections lie with Congress and the States, not with the President.
(2)
On May 20, 1993, President William J. Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–31), which was passed with bipartisan support.
(3)
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 established certain voter registration requirements and does not require documentary proof of citizenship on the National Mail Voter Registration Form.
(4)
On October 29, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–252), which was passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.
(5)
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 established the Election Assistance Commission, an independent and evenly divided bipartisan agency to assist States with new standards and improve election administration.
(6)
Executive Order 14248 (90 Fed. Reg. 14005), issued by President Trump on March 25, 2025, entitled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections
, exceeds the authority of the Executive Branch, is illegal and unconstitutional, and would disenfranchise millions of American voters.
Sec. 3. Repeal of executive order
Executive Order 14248 (90 Fed. Reg. 14005) shall have no force or effect and no Federal funds may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out such Executive order.
Sec. 4. Prohibition on use of funds
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be appropriated or transferred to, or used by, the Department of Government Efficiency to access each State’s voter registration lists, records concerning voter list maintenance activities, Federal immigration databases, or other public or private State records related to Federal elections.