The American Postal Workers Union swung back at President Donald Trump this week with a new national television advertisement blasting his attacks on mail-in voting and describing why it's so important to Americans, The Hill reported.
In the spot, "America Needs Vote by Mail," the campaign features everyday Americans — a flight attendant, college student and farmer — identifying why they rely on absentee ballots. The 30-second commercial is sponsored by the 200,000 member union and starts airing in Ohio this week, where the first mail-in ballots were cast in 1864 by Union Army soldiers, according to The Associated Press. After that the campaign moves to other states.
The message of the advertisement is clear: "Vote by mail. Keep it. Protect it. Expand it."
The union's counteroffensive comes as Trump ratchets up his assault on voting access ahead of the midterms. Late last month, he signed an executive order to restrict mail-in ballots, demanding states create voter eligibility lists and limiting absentee voting to names on those lists.
Trump doubled down on his debunked claims about widespread mail-voting "cheating," despite zero evidence supporting the allegation.
Democrats then filed a lawsuit to block Trump's executive order.
"Our Constitution’s Framers anticipated this kind of desire for absolute power," Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias said in the complaint. "They recognized the menace it would pose to ordered liberty and the ways in which it would corrode self-government like an acid."
"And so, to preserve the People’s own sovereignty, they crafted a system of government to resist that threat," Elias added.
