President Donald Trump is shaking up the electoral landscape again. On Monday, he took to Truth Social to declare war on mail-in ballots and voting machines, promising an executive order to nix them for the 2026 midterms, as News Nation reports. The move is classic Trump -- bold, brash, and bound to spark a firestorm.
Trump’s plan, announced via his social media platform, targets mail-in voting and what he calls “seriously controversial” voting machines for elimination. He claims these methods breed fraud, a charge he’s leveled since his 2020 election loss, which he still insists was “rigged.” No evidence supports these claims, but that hasn’t slowed his crusade.
The executive order aims to restore “honesty” to elections, starting with the 2026 midterms. Trump argues mail-in ballots and machines are inherently corrupt, favoring instead watermark paper ballots for their supposed speed and clarity. Critics, of course, are already sharpening their legal pencils.
Trump’s disdain for mail-in voting isn’t new. He’s long claimed it’s a Democrat scheme to cheat, despite studies showing no widespread fraud. His 2020 loss, blamed on expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic, fuels this fixation.
A June report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission noted 30.3% of 2024 ballots were mailed. That’s down from 43% in 2020 but higher than pre-pandemic levels. Clearly, voters still trust the system Trump wants to dismantle.
“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” Trump declared on Truth Social. He calls voting machines “inaccurate” and “expensive,” pushing watermark paper as a foolproof alternative. Sounds simple, but the logistics scream chaos.
Trump’s not new to election meddling via executive order. In March, he tried to block states from counting late-arriving mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day. A judge slapped that down, ruling he lacked authority over state election rules.
Undeterred, Trump doubled down in his latest post, claiming states are just “agents” of the federal government in vote counting. “They must do what the Federal Government… tells them,” he insisted. That’s a constitutional stretch that’ll likely crash in court.
Legal roadblocks have plagued Trump’s election overhaul attempts. Recent months saw multiple efforts to reshape federal voting processes hit judicial walls. Expect more lawsuits when this executive order drops.
“WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT… to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections,” Trump vowed. He’s framing this as a battle against Democrat “cheating,” a tired trope that fires up his base. Evidence of such fraud remains as elusive as ever.
Trump’s push for paper ballots isn’t just about nostalgia. He claims they’re faster and leave “no doubt” about winners, unlike machines he calls a “total disaster.” Experts disagree, noting paper systems can be slow and error-prone without modern checks.
“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING,” Trump bellowed online. He’s betting his base will rally behind this, but convincing moderates is another story. The all-caps urgency feels more like a campaign stunt than a policy win.
Democrats, predictably, are gearing up to fight. Trump’s claim that they “cheat at levels never seen before” is red meat for his supporters but lacks substance. Courts have consistently rejected fraud allegations, yet the narrative persists.
“I… WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK,” Trump pledged. Noble words, but his plan hinges on a shaky premise: that mail-in voting and machines inherently corrupt democracy. The data, some suggest, says otherwise.
Trump’s vision of a paper-only election system might sound pure, but it’s a logistical nightmare. States have invested heavily in machines for accuracy and speed. Upending that for 2026 could create more problems than it solves, leaving voters stuck in the crossfire.
