Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) sponsored an amendment to H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which would block funding for agencies’ implementation or enforcement of Executive Order 14019, related to promoting access to voting. President Joe Biden had issued this Executive Order in 2021 to promote and defend the right to vote for all people who are legally entitled to participate in elections, including by expanded federal agency participation in voter registration under the decades-old National Voter Registration Act, as well as facilitating access to voting for federal employees, active duty servicemembers, overseas citizens, voters with disabilities, and more. This nonpartisan initiative is one of the most significant federal executive actions ever taken to promote democracy. Proposals like the Budd amendment to defund its implementation would harm voters and the government’s ability to efficiently and effectively serve people in the United States. The burdens of this amendment would fall disproportionately on communities of color, communities with low wealth, and others who face the greatest barriers to exercising their right to vote. On October 31, the Senate rejected the Budd amendment by a vote of 45-50 (Senate roll call vote 279).