Democrats across the country are rebuking Trump and expanding access to the ballot box, especially through vote-by-mail. Last week saw major gains as elected officials and party leaders across the country made it easier for voters to exercise their most fundamental right.

Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer and congressional Democrats are committed to additional funding for election infrastructure in this unprecedented time.

SPEAKER PELOSI: “In this next bill, we will be supporting vote-by-mail in a very important way, we think it’s a health issue at this point. And I didn’t want to leave this conversation without mentioning the importance of the life of our people, the livelihood of themselves and our economy, and the life of our democracy.”

LEADER SCHUMER: “We must make sure that our elections this fall are conducted fairly, that states have enough money to run them properly, and that every American can exercise his or her constitutional franchise safely and confidently. This is a COVID-related issue. So those issues and more will be priorities for the Senate Democratic caucus in the next bill.”

Two weeks after Republicans forced Wisconsinites to risk their health to vote — with at least 40 COVID-19 cases now linked to the election — the Milwaukee Common Council moved unanimously to send absentee ballot applications with prepaid return envelopes to every voter in the city.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to create a program under which all of the city’s approximately 300,000 registered voters would receive an application for an absentee ballot in the mail. The ‘SafeVote’ program also provides voters with a postage-paid return envelope so they can participate in the fall election.”

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reached a bipartisan agreement to allow all voters to vote by mail in the state’s June 23 primary.

Courier-Journal: “Kentucky is allowing all registered voters to mail in their ballots for the state’s rescheduled primary election June 23 — a major bipartisan agreement designed to avoid in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Officials in Allegheny County, PA are sending every eligible voter a vote-by-mail request form.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Allegheny County will send mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter in the county who hasn’t already applied for one for this June’s primary election, officials announced Friday. The county is currently ‘finalizing’ the mailings, which will include an application and a postage-paid envelope addressed back to the county elections office, according to a written announcement.”

The Texas Democratic Party is helping Texans overcome obstacles created by Republicans who refuse to allow online voter registration.

Houston Chronicle: “The Texas Democratic Party is launching an effort to register 1 million new voters online. … Voters can go to the website, fill out a registration form, which the party will print and mail them, along with an envelope and stamp, so all they have to do is sign the form, put it in the envelope and drop it in the mail.”