Trump’s Push for Ending Mail-In Ballots and Voting Machines Means Process Likely to Fall on States

by Charlotte Hazard

 

President Donald Trump on Monday announced via TRUTH Social that he would lead a movement to get rid of mail-in-ballots and voting machines due to fraud and corruption, but the matter will likely take place at the state level.

“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly “Inaccurate,” Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote in a lengthy TRUTH Social post.

Experts interviewed by Newsweek told the news outlet that Trump’s executive order won’t change federal elections and Congress is not able to change the way states run their elections.

Republicans have, in the past, been critical of voting machines and mail-in voting, as during the 2022 midterms, states like Arizona had issues with machines not working. U.S. Agency for Global Media senior adviser and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake in 2022 alleged that thousands of Republican voters were disenfranchised on Election Day, when voting machine errors occurred in at least 60% of the voting centers in Maricopa County.

Current Congressman Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., ran for attorney general in 2022 and narrowly lost to Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. He filed a lawsuit and alleged she was holding office unlawfully due to all the votes not being counted and election manipulation.

“Lies and conspiracies”

Mayes responded to Trump’s TRUTH post on the social media platform, X, on Monday, writing, “Arizonans have safely and securely voted by mail for decades, ever since the Republican-led legislature approved it in the 1990’s. Donald Trump wants to rip away that right based on lies and conspiracies. But he has zero authority to interfere in Arizona’s elections.”

Hamadeh responded to Mayes’ post with, “The only reason you are in office is because of election manipulation — you’re illegitimate and were not elected, but rather selected by a corrupt cabal. President Trump is going to fix our broken election system and I will be there to help all the way.”

States all over the U.S. have different laws when it comes to mail-in ballots and many have been changed at the local level.

Just days before the 2024 presidential election, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that ballots without a handwritten date on them could not be counted in the 2024 election.

The Keystone State’s highest court sided with the Pennsylvania GOP in the ruling, overturning a previous decision by a Commonwealth Court that stated requiring a handwritten date was unconstitutional.

Dems push for early mail-in voting

Last year, New York Republicans challenged a state law signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul that expanded early voting by mail. This law allows voters in New York to request a mail-in ballot up to ten days before the election. They don’t have to give a reason why they couldn’t vote in person.

In August, the New York Court of Appeals upheld the state’s mail-in voting law, rejecting the challenge from Republicans.

Trump said he would sign an executive order to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines before the 2026 midterm elections.

“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,” his TRUTH post continued. “Remember, the States are merely an “agent” for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes.”

Historically, one election stands out in this regard, that being the 2000 presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Florida was a crucial “must-win” state for both candidates. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified that Bush had won the election by a 537-vote margin. According to the National Constitutional Center, on December 8, 2000, the Florida Supreme Court sided with Gore, ordering that all statewide “undervote” ballots, or punch-card ballots that had been cast but not registered because of a problem called a “hanging chad,” needed to be recounted.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on December 12 went against the Florida Supreme Court, remanding the case back for further action. But since the safe-harbor deadline for nominating members of the Electoral College had passed, Bush emerged as the certified winner in Florida, and Gore conceded the next day.

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Charlotte Hazard is a reporter for Just the News.
Photo “Mail in Ballots” by Cindy Shebley. CC BY 2.0.

 

 

 

 

 

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