Trump’s Push Against Mail-in Voting
President Trump has intensified his campaign to eliminate mail-in voting, emphasizing concerns about voting machines while speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
“We absolutely need to end mail-in voting; Republicans must be at the forefront of this. The Democrats are supporting it—they thrive on these questionable policies. With mail-in voting, it’s hard to see many Democrats getting elected,” he stated.
Trump confirmed his intention to sign an executive order to abolish mail-in voting ahead of the midterms in 2026.
“Mail-in voting is tainted. You simply can’t achieve a genuine democracy with it. As a Republican, I’m committed to doing everything possible concerning email votes,” he remarked.
“We’re working on an executive order right now, crafted by the nation’s top legal minds, aimed at ending the email-in vote because it’s corrupt,” Trump continued. “I might be mistaken, but I believe we may be the only country using this system for extensive fraud,” he added.
“We’ll ensure safer elections and obtain quicker results. Paper votes yield results on the night of the election,” he noted.
During his remarks, he looked to Zelensky. Their meeting also focused on Trump’s initiative to resolve the ongoing conflict with Russia. European leaders had previously visited Zelensky at the White House shortly after Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
“I’d rather not dwell on this,” Trump mentioned while lightly touching Zelensky’s shoulder, then turned back to the press, expressing, “But I appreciate you bringing that up.”
“When you vote the traditional way at the booth in a well-run state, it’s solid—the process is quite thorough. They even verify your license plate; I found that impressive,” he shared.
He added, “Cheating is tough in such an environment.” He criticized California for being “corrupted,” claiming that individuals could potentially vote multiple times without evidence to support such claims.
Previously, Trump has made unsubstantiated claims about widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, suggesting that mail-in voting was a significant issue.
According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, nearly one-third of votes cast in the 2024 election were submitted by mail. A report from June stated that, during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, mail-in votes reached 30.3%, and in the 2024 election, that number increased to a record 43%.
There’s an ongoing effort to dramatically reform the federal election system, facing legal challenges, including a March executive order aimed at stopping the counting of mail-in votes that arrive post-Election Day.
