Meanwhile, as we’ve mentioned previously, former President Donald Trump has announced his intention to sign an executive order. This order seeks to remove all mail-in voting and voting machines before the 2026 midterm elections. For nearly four years he has claimed without evidence that voter fraud took place during the 2020 presidential election. This declaration comes after every one of those claims, where he lost handily to Joe Biden.
Trump’s decision stems from conversations he reportedly had with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who allegedly claimed that the 2020 election “was rigged because you have mail-in voting.” This declaration appears to have stoked Trump’s weeks-long attacks on mail-in ballots. He repeatedly refers to them in the negative as a driver for voting irregularities.
During a recent rally, Trump stated that the United States is “now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting.” He further claimed, “All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.” Each of these claims directly contradict the facts established by U.S. courts. In the wake of the 2020 election, tens of hundreds of fraud claims were thrown out by courts for failure to provide any meaningful evidence showing massive wrongdoing.
In fact, mail-in voting has gained widespread acceptance throughout the U.S. Due to the pandemic, in 2020 almost half of all American voters decided to vote by mail. That was a huge increase from less than one in ten voters doing so in 1996. By 2022, more than one in three voters took advantage of mail voting. Currently, 28 states allow all voters to access mail ballots by simply asking for one, no reason needed. In comparison, eight states and Washington D.C. send a mail-in ballot automatically to all registered voters.
Internationally, mail-in voting is not uncommon either. According to data from International IDEA, 34 countries around the world allow for at least some type of mail-in voting. Twelve of them allow vote-by-mail for all voters, and another 22 allow mail-in voting only for certain groups. What’s more, all but a handful of European countries provide some form of mail voting. More than 100 other countries permit their citizens to vote by mail from abroad.
Ironically, Trump used mail-in voting himself in Florida’s 2020 primaries, as did First Lady Melania Trump. This has led many to wonder why, exactly, he is speaking out against the practice now.
Debates over electoral integrity and access to the ballot have reached a boiling point. If enacted, Trump’s proposals would radically reshape the future of voting. He is committed to eliminating mail-in ballots and all voting machines. As the country heads into the midterms, Biden’s commitment will surely bring new attention to discussions around defending voter access and maintaining election security.