Trump says he will sign executive order to eliminate mail-in ballots, voting machines
President Trump discusses mail in voting initiatives
While meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office of the White House about his recent remarks about mail-in voting and elections.
President Donald Trump said he plans to sign an executive order to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump discussed his executive order while addressing reporters Monday during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Quickly, Mail-In ballots are corrupt. Mail-In ballots. You can never have a real democracy with Mail-In ballots. And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of Mail-In ballots, Trump said. "We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end Mail-In ballots because they're corrupt and, do you know that we're the only country in the world?"
He continued, "I believe I may be wrong, but just about the only country in the world that uses it because of what's happened. Massive fraud all over the place. The other thing we want change in the machines., for all of the money they spend, it's approximately ten times more expensive than paper ballots. And paper ballots are very sophisticated with the watermarked paper and everything else, we would get secure elections. We'd get much faster results in machines. I mean, they say we're going to have the results in two weeks with paper ballots. You have the results that night. Most people almost have, but most people many countries use paper ballots. It's the most secure form. So between paper ballots, very, very important paper ballots and I think maybe even more important, the mail in voting, we're going to end Mail-In voting. It's a fraud."
Trump mail-in ballots Truth Social post
Local perspective:
Trump announced the news in a Truth Social post Monday morning, writing in part "I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly "Inaccurate," Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election.
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"WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE," Trump added.
Mail-in ballots provide broader access to voting for constituents who are unable to vote in person, including older and disabled individuals, with some Democrats telling Newsweek that ending this voting process would affect a vast number of voters.
Newsweek reported that Trump’s action through an executive order to prohibit mail-in ballots and voting machines may result in legal challenges by states, who have the constitutional authority to determine how they administer federal elections, although Congress can establish rules through law.
No evidence of voter fraud found despite Trump claims
The backstory:
According to a U.S. Election Assistance report, approximately 30.3% of ballots cast in the 2024 election were submitted by mail, which was lower than the record 43% of mail-in ballots turned in during the height of the pandemic in 2021.
On June 13, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to institute parts of his sweeping March 25 executive order in March to overhaul federal elections, which included requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and banning states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day, Reuters reported.
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For years, President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that he, not Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election and has pushed Republicans to overhaul the nation’s voting system.
In 2022, then-Attorney General William Barr declared the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election. Barr told the AP that U.S. attorneys and FBI agents worked to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but "to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election."
Reuters noted that Trump also voted by mail in previous elections and encouraged his supporters to do the same in the 2024 election.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Truth Social post from Trump, Reuters, Newsweek, and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.