(The Hill) – On Monday, President Trump revealed his intention to issue an executive order aimed at eliminating mail-in ballots and contentious voting machines prior to the 2026 midterm elections.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump reiterated his criticism of mail-in voting, asserting that other nations have stopped using it due to encountering “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD.”
In his message, Trump stated, “I will lead a movement to end MAIL-IN BALLOTS and additionally address the highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Costly, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES. These machines are ten times more expensive than reliable and advanced Watermark Paper, which is quicker and eliminates any uncertainty about the election results,” he elaborated.
He further mentioned, “WE WILL START THIS INITIATIVE, WHICH THE DEMOCRATS WILL STRONGLY OPPOSE BECAUSE THEY ENGAGE IN CHEATING AT UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS, by executing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to promote HONESTY in the 2026 Midterm Elections.”
Trump has persistently made unfounded allegations regarding pervasive voter fraud linked to mail-in ballots. He has consistently claimed his 2020 election loss was “rigged,” especially criticizing the increased mail-in voting permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) released in June, nearly a third of the ballots in the 2024 election were mailed in. Although the rate didn’t match the previous pandemic peak of 43 percent, it still constituted 30.3 percent of all ballots—higher than the figures before the pandemic.
An effort to dramatically overhaul the way federal elections are run has faced legal roadblocks in recent months.
In June, a judge blocked part of Trump’s March executive order that sought to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Election Day but arrived later. The judge said the president lacked the authority to impose state election rules.
Trump, in his post on Monday, appeared to preempt concerns about the lack of authority.
“Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do,” Trump said.
The president accused Democrats of being “virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In SCAM” and pledged to fight to prevent election integrity.
“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS,” Trump wrote. “I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS.”
“THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!! REMEMBER, WITHOUT FAIR AND HONEST ELECTIONS, AND STRONG AND POWERFUL BORDERS, YOU DON’T HAVE EVEN A SEMBLANCE OF A COUNTRY.”
