US President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order ahead of next year’s midterm elections targeting mail-in ballots and voting machines, a move that would dramatically change how millions of Americans cast their ballots.
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“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,” Trump posted on social media on Monday.
Trump provided no evidence to back up his claims of widespread problems with voting machines. The president has long made unsubstantiated allegations that his 2020 election loss to former US president Joe Biden was tainted by fraud.
“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,” he added.
The president did not provide more details on an executive order or a time frame for when he would sign one. Trump said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that voting by mail undermines trust in elections.
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“Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest election with mail-in voting. And he said there’s not a country in the world that uses it now,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity after meeting the Russian leader, even though dozens of countries do so.
Federal judges blocked an order Trump signed in March that would require proof of US citizenship to vote and ban the counting of valid mail-in ballots that arrive after election day.