Overview

• Trump announced on Truth Social that he will sign an order to bar mail-in ballots and voting machines before the 2026 elections, and he told reporters his lawyers are drafting the measure.
• He asserted states are agents of the federal government for vote counting, a claim experts dispute as unconstitutional, and courts have already blocked his March order targeting mail ballots.
• Mail voting is widely used in the United States, with roughly one-third of 2024 ballots cast by mail, eight states and Washington, D.C., running all-mail elections, and 18 states counting postmarked ballots after Election Day.
• Trump’s statement that the U.S. is the only country using mail-in voting is contradicted by data showing at least 34 countries permit postal voting, and officials have found no evidence of widespread fraud.
• The pledge followed his meeting with Vladimir Putin, whom he says criticized mail voting, and it drew pushback from civil-rights groups and New York’s attorney general, who helped block his earlier order.