U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he would completely abolish mail-in voting and electronic voting machines, once again driving toward reforming the electoral system. He denounced mail-in voting as a "corrupt system" and stated that he would pursue an executive order to eliminate it to restore integrity ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
On the 18th (local time), President Trump stated on his social media platform Truth Social that "mail-in voting is a corrupt system that destroys democracy" and announced that he would eliminate the "expensive, inaccurate, and controversial electronic voting machines". On the same day, he reiterated this claim during a meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders.
He reportedly said, "Democracy cannot be secured through mail-in voting. The Republican Party must abolish mail-in voting" and noted that "the best lawyers are currently drafting a related executive order."
Following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, President Trump continued to make similar statements. In an interview with Fox News shortly after the meeting, he revealed that "Putin also said that mail-in voting makes elections unfair" and claimed that "the United States is virtually the only country in the world that conducts mail-in voting." However, it is estimated that about 45 countries worldwide have implemented mail-in voting, with approximately 36 of them being OECD member countries.
This trajectory aligns with President Trump's ongoing claims about election fraud. Previously, Trump had repeatedly raised suspicions that "mail-in voting is a hotbed of election fraud" after losing the 2020 presidential election to former President Joe Biden. Such claims have acted as a catalyst to rally his hardline supporters, ultimately leading to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
However, there are criticisms that it is essentially impossible to ban mail-in voting through the president's unilateral action. The U.S. Constitution grants authority to state legislatures to determine specific details related to election methods. In the United States, voters elect electors by state, and these electors conduct an indirect election to select the president. The electoral college is composed of the local representatives and senators, and Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution stipulates that "the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof."
President Trump stated that states are merely agents of the federal government and must follow federal directives, but constitutional scholars have directly countered this. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies in Washington D.C., emphasized that "the framers of the Constitution granted election management authority not to the federal government, but to each state and local government" and noted, "It's not just a matter of being a simple 'agent.'"
Meanwhile, President Trump appears to be working to shape favorable conditions for the Republican Party ahead of next year's midterm elections. He is reportedly pursuing options to increase Republican seats by up to five in Texas, and is developing strategies to secure additional seats in Florida, Missouri, and Ohio.
With the Democratic Party also beginning to redesign electoral districts in California to expand its seats, experts have analyzed that "a nationwide competition between the two parties for 'gerrymandering' is accelerating."