President Donald Trump on Monday pledged to spearhead what he called a nationwide “movement” to abolish mail-in ballots, intensifying his years-long campaign against a voting system used by millions of Americans.
Although mail voting has long been a fixture of US elections — and one Trump himself has repeatedly relied on — the former president claimed it undermines electoral integrity. He announced plans to issue an executive order aimed at restoring what he described as “honesty” to the upcoming midterms.
“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,” Trump declared in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Roughly a third of ballots cast in the 2024 general election were sent through the mail. In 18 states, election offices are legally allowed to tally ballots that arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on time.
Despite repeated assertions to the contrary, election experts and watchdog groups stress that mail-in ballots are just as secure as in-person voting. They warn that eliminating the option could suppress participation, especially among the elderly, people with disabilities, and voters in remote areas.
Still, Trump has continued to promote false claims. Following his 2020 loss, he alleged — without evidence — that fraudulent postal ballots delivered Joe Biden the presidency.
In a recent Fox News interview, Trump pointed to comments he said were made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “You know, Vladimir Putin said something, one of the most interesting things,” Trump recounted. “He said, ‘Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting. He said, ‘Mail-in voting, every election.’ He said, ‘No country has mail-in voting. It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.’”
That claim is contradicted by research from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), which found that 34 countries, including Germany, the UK, Denmark, and Canada, all permit some form of in-country postal voting.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to block states from counting ballots received after Election Day, even if they were postmarked in time. A federal judge quickly struck down the directive, ruling that Trump lacked the authority to override state election procedures.
Despite his fiery rhetoric, Trump has himself voted by mail on several occasions, including twice in Florida’s 2020 primaries and in New York’s local contests in 2017 and 2018. He did, however, vote in person in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
In a brief pivot during the 2024 race, Trump even launched a campaign called “Swamp The Vote USA” to encourage Republicans to cast ballots by mail — a move analysts interpreted as a reluctant recognition that many of his supporters rely on the system he now seeks to abolish.
