Two Florida Republicans are introducing legislation that would require absentee and mail-in ballots to be received by election officials by the end of Election Day, a change that could affect millions of voters ahead of the midterms.
Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., plans to introduce the House bill on Thursday, with a companion measure led in the Senate by Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. Both are allies of President Donald Trump.
“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.
Lee served as Florida’s secretary of state from 2019 until May 2022, overseeing the state’s elections before her election to Congress.
“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.”
The proposal follows an executive order Trump signed in March 2025 that set an Election Day deadline for when mail-in ballots can be received. Nationally, nearly a third of Americans vote by mail, meaning the legislation, if passed, could reshape voting procedures in a large number of states.
The issue has split Republicans. Some GOP lawmakers from states where mail voting is widely used have raised concerns about altering the rules so close to the November elections.
Lee pushed back on the idea that her bill would restrict access to mail voting.
“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.”
A Separate Legal Fight
The bill comes as a separate Trump executive order on mail-in voting remains tied up in litigation between the White House and more than 20 states. That order would require the U.S. Postal Service and other agencies to verify proof of citizenship before delivering ballots and would mandate specific stationery marking federal election mail.
Supporters say the order would bolster confidence in elections, while opponents argue it would introduce confusion and disruption into the existing voting system.
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