WASHINGTON — President Trump cast his ballot by mail in Tuesday’s Florida primary elections, even as he continues to publicly encourage voters to show up at polling places in person.
The White House dismissed the move as nothing unusual, arguing that Trump’s schedule in Washington leaves little room for a separate trip to Florida simply to vote.
“As everyone knows, the president is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, DC. This is a non-story,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said.
According to Palm Beach County election records cited by Politico, Trump asked for his mail ballot in late July and sent it back on Aug. 13.
The vote-by-mail disclosure comes as Trump presses Congress to approve the Save America Act, a proposal that would mandate proof of citizenship to vote and place stricter rules on mail-in ballots, while still allowing certain absentee voting exceptions.
“As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel — but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” Wales noted.
Trump has repeatedly warned about what he describes as the risks of widespread mail-in voting, saying absentee ballots should be reserved for voters who are serving in the military, traveling, disabled or dealing with an illness.
Under Florida election law, any eligible registered voter may request a mail-in ballot. Trump remains registered in Palm Beach County, where his Mar-a-Lago estate is listed as his residence, though he has not visited the state in months.
Tuesday’s primary is not the first time Trump has voted by mail in his home state. He also did so in a March special state legislative election.
“Because of the fact that I’m president of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida, because I felt I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sunshine,” the president explained his choice to reporters at the time.
Meanwhile, first son Eric Trump and his wife Lara cast their ballots in person Tuesday morning, with Lara Trump posting on X: “In Florida, our ‘I Voted’ stickers have flamingos on them … don’t forget to VOTE TODAY!!!!”
This year’s Sunshine State contests feature a competitive race for the Republican nomination for governor.
The president endorsed GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, who is seen as the frontrunner, with Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former state House Speaker Paul Renner and investor James Fishback in the running as well.
