FIRST ON FOX: The nationwide battle over how and when Americans can vote has hit Capitol Hill, with two allies of President Donald Trump unveiling a new proposal they say will help restore confidence in U.S. elections.
Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., plans to introduce legislation on Thursday mandating that absentee and mail-in ballots are received by the relevant officials by the end of the day on Election Day. A corresponding bill is being led in the Senate by Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla.
“This is something that we’ve done in Florida for many years, and it’s a really effective way of making sure that elections stay organized and that we have timely election results,” Lee told Fox News Digital.
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Lee is Florida’s former top elections official, having served as its secretary of state from 2019 until May 2022.
“Florida is proof-positive that this works, that it does not deny any voter the right to vote. Our job as elected officials or as elections officials throughout the states is just to make sure that voters know the deadlines, that they know the rules and tell them your ballot has to be received,” Lee said. “They can do that just as easy as they can get it postmarked by Election Day.”
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It follows an executive order Trump issued in March 2025 essentially setting an Election Day deadline for when mail-in ballots can be received.
If passed, the legislation could have a significant impact on millions of Americans, nearly a third of whom vote by mail.
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However, the topic of mail-in ballots has been a political lightning rod that’s divided the GOP. Republicans in states where voting by mail is popular have expressed concern about changing the current system ahead of November.
But Lee argued her bill does not curb people’s ability to vote by mail.
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“One thing that’s important to understand about this bill is that it doesn’t limit voting by mail. It simply says that for states who allow mail voting, ballots must be received by Election Day,” she said. “So it still keeps all of those options that states have chosen to implement on the table for them. It just creates a different deadline.”
Moody told Fox News Digital of the bill, “The Ballots by Election Day Act is a simple fix to rebuild trust in elections. The fact that some states allow ballots to pour in for days after an election is absurd. Passing our Ballots by Election Day Act would deliver results before bed.”
Meanwhile, a separate Trump order making significant changes to the mail-in voting system is currently at the center of a dramatic legal battle between the White House and over 20 states.
That order would create new hurdles for the U.S. Postal Service and other agencies to verify proof of citizenship before delivering ballots, as well as mandate the use of specific stationery denoting federal election mail.
Supporters of the rule have argued it’s key to enhancing voter confidence in elections, while opponents have said it would do the opposite by sowing chaos in the current system.
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