For Immediate Release: January 12, 2026
Pending SCOTUS case could make it harder for millions of Americans to vote by mail
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., today announced they are leading their colleagues in filing an amicus brief in Watson v. Republican National Committee, a landmark mail-in voting case that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court later this year.
In 2024, the Republican National Committee (RNC) challenged a Mississippi law that allows ballots postmarked by election day to be received up to five days after election day, arguing that this law violates federal law setting the timing of elections.
If the 5th Circuit’s ruling is affirmed by the Supreme Court, vote-by-mail in more than a dozen states – including Oregon and California – will be thrown into disarray as huge numbers of voters, particularly rural, military, and overseas voters could be disenfranchised.
“Republicans will stop at nothing in their crusade against vote-by-mail because they’re afraid they can’t win elections on their own merits,” Wyden said. “The Supreme Court needs to see this case for what it really is: a thinly-veiled attempt at full blown voter suppression by Donald Trump and his far-right fan club. I’m all in to protect the fundamental rights of every American to make their voice heard on election day.”
“Despite Trump and Republicans’ baseless attacks, vote-by-mail remains one of the most effective and secure ways to make sure every eligible citizen can make their voice heard — especially for servicemembers, rural voters, and Americans living overseas,” Padilla said. “We should be making it easier for Americans to vote, not bowing to Donald Trump’s flagrant attempts to suppress voting rights to cling to power. We are urging the Court to reject this blatant interference with California and other states’ election laws that protect Americans’ fundamental right to vote.”
The amicus brief filing comes just days after the Trump administration’s latest attempt to suppress mail-in voting. Closures and consolidation of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) facilities as well as a recent rule change by the USPS will result in mail less frequently being postmarked on the day it is received. As a result, mail-in ballots received by the USPS near or on election day could receive a delayed postmark and be invalidated.
“Many states, including Oregon, have adopted sensible policies to allow mail-in-ballots to be counted so long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day,” the senators wrote. “The Fifth Circuit’s ruling undermines the viability of these laws and threatens the disenfranchisement of voters, especially those living abroad or in rural areas.”
For years, Wyden has been one of the Senate’s leading advocates on vote-by-mail. Earlier this year he re-introduced his legislation to expand Oregon’s vote-by-mail system nationwide.
Wyden and Padilla were joined by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Mark Warner, D-Va. in filing the amicus brief.
The amicus brief can be found here.
###