This morning in an unhinged rant on Truth Social, Trump announced that he plans to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines through an executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms. He claims this will “bring honesty” to elections. Here’s the problem: he can’t actually do that.
Elections in the United States are not federally administered. They are run by the states. That means the president has no power to unilaterally ban mail-in voting. Period.
In his Truth Social post, Trump revealed his alarming view of federal power over elections, writing: “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.”
This isn’t how the Constitution works. As Columbia Law professor Richard Briffault put it, “The rules for running elections, even federal elections, cannot be changed by executive order. Any changes would have to be made by Congress.”
But here’s where the real danger lies: Trump can bully Republican-controlled legislatures and governors into changing state laws to restrict voting access. We’ve already seen GOP states respond to his lies about the 2020 election by passing laws that made it harder for people—particularly young people, people of color, seniors, and working-class voters—to cast a ballot. That is what we should be watching out for.
And this isn’t Trump’s first attempt. He previously signed an executive order targeting elections in March that was blocked by the courts after Democrat-led states sued. Now he’s trying again.
Of course, Trump is recycling the same baseless lies he’s been telling since 2020. He calls mail-in voting a “hoax” that rigged the last election, even though his own attorney general, Bill Barr, admitted there was no evidence of widespread fraud. The irony? Republicans benefited from mail-in ballots in 2024 when their party finally encouraged their voters to use them.
Trump also bragged about discussing U.S. elections with Vladimir Putin during their recent Alaska summit, claiming Putin agreed mail-in ballots “rigged” 2020. According to Trump, Putin told him: “Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting. No country has mail-in voting.”
Just sit with that for a second: an American president taking his cues on U.S. democracy from a Russian dictator.
And Putin’s claim? Completely false. Roughly a quarter of countries worldwide use postal ballots in national elections, including nations across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region—like India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Sri Lanka.
This isn’t about fairness. It isn’t about “honesty.” It’s about power. Trump wants to control how elections are run so he can control the outcome.
Here’s what matters: Mail-in voting is safe, secure, and essential. Millions of Americans rely on it—seniors, service members, people with disabilities, parents, and anyone who can’t stand in line for hours on Election Day.
Trump can’t wave a pen and ban mail-in ballots nationwide. But he can strong-arm states into restricting access, and that should alarm all of us.
Stay loud, stay informed, and keep fighting for democracy.
And let me know in the comments if you want me to do a full breakdown when the executive order drops, or if you have any questions.
Make sure you’re subscribed for more.
Share this post