Trump says he will sign executive order ending mail-in voting

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

President Donald Trump said he will be signing an executive order ending mail-in voting and requiring voter ID.

“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday night. “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!”

Currently, every state in the U.S. allows for some form of mail-in voting. In a few states, elections are all-mail voting, meaning voting is conducted primarily by mail and registered voters are automatically sent ballots.

Those states include California, Colorado, Washington and five others. Utah will be ending automatic mail-in ballots starting in 2029.

Trump has long pushed for a strengthening of the American election system, especially after widespread allegations of voter fraud following the 2020 election.

As a part of that effort, Trump signed an executive order in March to bolster the enforcement of election law by establishing new voter identification requirements for federal elections.

That order also addressed some aspects of mail-in voting, namely directing the U.S. Attorney General to take “all necessary action” to ensure that mail-in votes are counted only up until Election Day and not after. Following many legal challenges to the March executive order, it is still making its way through the courts.

Critics say Trump taking additional executive action on elections could be considered unconstitutional as states have broad election authority.

“The president lacks the authority to take either step,” said Democracy Docket, a voters rights group, of Trump’s announcement. “A presidential order to end mail-in voting would be blatantly unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution gives the states the primary authority to regulate elections, while empowering Congress to “at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations. The Framers never considered authorizing the president to oversee elections.”

Republicans have supported Trump’s effort, even looking to codify some of his March executive order’s actions into law, as previously reported by The Center Square.

This isn’t the first time Trump has teased a coming executive order ending mail-in voting.

“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” he posted on Truth Social. “WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”

In that post, Trump also addressed claims that these actions are unconstitutional.

“States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes,” Trump said. “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.”