In the latest twist of political irony, President Donald Trump has once again cast his vote via mail in Florida, even as he continues to criticize the practice as prone to fraud and urges Congress to restrict its use.
According to voter records from Palm Beach County, Trump participated by mail in a special election on Tuesday for state legislative seats, and his vote has been officially counted. It’s noteworthy that early in-person voting for this election concluded on Sunday, while Trump was still at his Florida property.
The White House has yet to respond to requests for comments from the Associated Press. Trump’s aides have clarified that his criticism is aimed at states that implement universal mail-in voting, rather than individuals who might not be able to reach polling stations.
Despite these distinctions, Trump has recently labeled mail-in voting as “cheating” and “corrupt as hell.” He is advocating for the SAVE Act, a comprehensive bill designed to eliminate universal mail ballots, limiting them to certain groups like individuals with disabilities, military personnel, or those traveling on Election Day. The proposal, however, faces significant challenges in the narrowly divided Senate, even with Trump’s backing.
Trump’s focus on mail ballots dates back to his unfounded claims that fraud led to his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Numerous U.S. courts, along with Trump’s own attorney general, have found no evidence supporting these fraud claims, despite the pandemic prompting a higher number of mail-in votes that year.
“We’re the only country in the world that does it that way. Corrupt as hell,” Trump declared last week during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the White House.
Dozens of countries, including European democracies that are traditional U.S. allies, use some form of mail-in voting.
Trump said last week that the SAVE Act was the “biggest thing” pending in Washington, even as Congress and administration grapple with the Iran war and a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Last August, Trump used a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to blast mail voting.
“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,” Trump said. “And it’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It’s the only way they can get elected.”
The president, who changed his official personal residence and voter registration from New York to Florida during his first term, does not have a standing vote-by-mail request for all elections, according to the county records. That means he has to request a mail ballot for any individual election.
The ballot today includes Florida state House District 87 and Senate District 14.
Trump offered an endorsement late Monday in the House contest via his Truth Social platform.
“There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County. … TO ALL GREAT PATRIOTS IN FLORIDA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 87: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JON MAPLES! Polls are open from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.” Trump wrote, without mentioning that he had voted by mail or at all.
The Florida election comes one day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Mississippi case questioning whether states can count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but not received until later. Trump has criticized those allowances in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
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