April 24, 2020 3:20 a.m. 
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is part of a group of lawmakers urging Congressional leadership to include $3.6 billion to help states expand vote-by-mail and early voting in the next COVID-19 relief package.
A letter from the senators said officials in sixteen states have already postponed presidential primary elections or transitioned their elections to all mail-in voting. The letter said action must be taken now to plan for upcoming elections.
In March, Wyden along with over 20 senators introduced the National Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 to expand no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail to all states, extend early in-person voting in every state to at least twenty days and reimburse states for additional costs in administering elections during the pandemic. Last week, Wyden and Senators Chris Coons of Delaware and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, published an op-ed in USA Today, advocating for a fourth relief package to include money and direction for states to expand vote-by-mail and early voting.