Trump Reignites His Push To Ban Mail-in Voting After Meeting With Putin

President Donald Trump said Monday that he will "lead a movement" to extremity mail-in balloting successful elections. The Constitution, Congress and nan states fig to person their say, too.

The rumor has re-emerged arsenic a fixation for Trump erstwhile nan astir pressing business earlier him is his effort to mediate a bid agreement betwixt Russia and Ukraine. It appears to person been rekindled, aliases astatine slightest stoked, by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reinforced Trump's unsubstantiated position that postal ballots "rigged" nan 2020 election, astatine a acme Friday successful Alaska.

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In an question and reply pinch Fox News big Bret Baier connected Friday, Trump relayed that "one of nan astir absorbing things" Putin told him during nan acme had to do pinch nan unreliability of mail-in voting.

"He said: 'Your predetermination was rigged because you person mail-in voting. ... It’s intolerable to person mail-in voting and person honorable elections,’” Trump said, adding that Putin told him "no country" has mail-in voting.

It's mendacious that nan United States is nan only state pinch vote-by-mail. Other countries, specified arsenic Canada and nan United Kingdom, besides do. Russia has been heavy criticized, including by nan U.S. government, for not having free and adjacent elections.

Trump past vowed Monday connected his Truth Social level to rumor an executive bid aimed astatine banning vote-by-mail.

"Remember, nan States are simply an 'agent' for nan Federal Government successful counting and tabulating nan votes," Trump wrote. "They must do what nan Federal Government, arsenic represented by nan President of nan United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do."

He besides brought it up erstwhile he met pinch Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later successful nan day, saying, "Mail-in ballots are corrupt."

But Trump faces precocious ineligible and governmental hurdles to changing nan laws governing national elections: nan Constitution, national and authorities statutes, nan fame of absentee balloting and nan GOP's occurrence successful utilizing mail-in votes successful cardinal plaything states, specified arsenic Trump's location state, Florida.

The Constitution vests nan powerfulness for choosing nan "times, places and manner" of House and Senate elections successful authorities legislatures, pinch Congress and nan president retaining nan correct to walk laws overriding them. States besides person nan authority, nether nan Constitution, to find really statesmanlike electors are selected. Federal rule requires states to judge mailed ballots from Americans surviving overseas, including veterans.

"I don’t want to presuppose what mightiness beryllium successful nan executive order, but I deliberation it’s beautiful clear that nan times, places and manners of elections are group by nan state. That’s correct location successful nan Constitution," said Matt Weil, vice president of nan populist programme astatine nan Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington deliberation tank.

Changing those "requires an enactment of Congress," Weil said. And doing that would beryllium nary mini feat erstwhile Democrats tin artifact authorities successful nan Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said successful a statement, “Senate Democrats will make judge that immoderate and each measurement that would make it moreover much difficult for Americans to ballot will beryllium dormant connected presence successful nan Senate and will proceed to conflict to protect our democracy."

The Republican National Committee hinted astatine nan powerfulness of Congress successful a connection Monday supporting Trump's plan.

“Under his activity and direction, nan RNC is continuing to build upon our historical predetermination integrity efforts from nan successful 2024 predetermination cycle, and we will beryllium fresh to thief instrumentality immoderate and each changes made to our nation’s predetermination laws by nan President and Congress," RNC spokesperson Kiersten Pels said. "The Republican Election Integrity motto is simple: we want to make it easier to ballot and harder to cheat.”

Beyond those challenges, galore Republicans opportunity Trump is sportfishing successful a politically toxic pond that is amended near alone.

"From a axenic strategies standpoint, it is not helpful," said a erstwhile Trump run charismatic who is moving connected midterm campaigns.

In his grounded 2020 re-election bid, Trump discouraged Republicans from voting early and arsenic absentees, and galore of his friends judge that costs him votes. By contrast, successful 2024, his advisers persuaded him to clasp those practices connected nan premise that he could "bank" votes early and not person to walk money trying to mobilize group who had already formed ballots.

Trump's emerging push is destined to fail, nan erstwhile run charismatic said, and it could tamp down Republican turnout successful nan process.

"It discourages our use" of mail-in voting, which "is going to exist," he said, adding that "this is wherever he starts getting into conspiratorial spaces wherever independent voters are for illustration 'What? What is he talking about?’”

Trump's White House precocious hosted a group of secretaries of authorities to talk "our ongoing committedness to predetermination integrity," said Ben Kindel, a spokesperson for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican.

While LaRose still backs Ohio's mail-in balloting laws, Kindel said, "we look guardant to reviewing nan specifications of what nan president is proposing. … Changes to Ohio's voting process require a ballot of nan General Assembly, truthful I'm judge we'll beryllium talking pinch them arsenic well."

Trump's aversion to absentee ballots is possibly astir striking because Republicans' caller occurrence successful Florida elections — successful Trump's location authorities — has coincided pinch nan authorities GOP's mastery of mail-in voting. White House main of unit Susie Wiles has been a longtime proponent of early voting successful nan authorities and helped Trump spot nan use to him crossed plaything states successful 2024.

Wiles and respective different White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

In Florida, Trump’s push to ace down connected message ballots has hampered Republicans' decadeslong effort to build their message programs. Since they began processing a mail-in programme successful nan 1990s, Republicans successful nan authorities person dominated their Democratic counterparts utilizing nan method Trump detests.

But his message, that nan believe is inherently corrupt, has altered nan scenery successful Florida, allowing Democrats to ramp up their efforts and, for nan first time, return an separator successful vote-by-mail ballots — moreover arsenic Trump won nan authorities successful 2020 and 2024.

“For years, you had to build into turnout plans nan truth that nan GOP would person a large advantage successful ballot by mail,” Steve Schale, a longtime Florida Democratic operative who was an early advocator of his party’s amended utilizing message ballots, said successful a connection to NBC News. “Using VBM to thrust their sporadic voters to vote. We did antagonistic first by driving group to ballot successful personification early, past VBM.”

The slipping of Republicans voting-by-mail advantage has dismayed immoderate of nan state’s seasoned Republicans.

“There was a clip erstwhile Republicans owned and relied connected voting by mail,” said longtime Republican operative Mac Stipanovich, who helped build Florida’s vote-by-mail programme but near nan GOP complete disagreements pinch Trump. Stipanovich, who was main of unit to Republican erstwhile Florida Gov. Bob Martinez, said nan thought of expanding vote-by-mail to make it easier for each voters to formed ballots is “anathema to nan Trump Republican Party, successful which elector suppression is dressed up arsenic preventing elector fraud.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to travel Trump’s telephone to ace down connected vote-by-mail successful nan state, signing sweeping changes to specified laws successful caller years. They worked arsenic intended. During nan 2020 statesmanlike campaign, 4.3 cardinal message ballots were formed successful Florida, a number that dropped to 3 cardinal during past year’s statesmanlike contest.

Some of nan changes person concerned moreover Republican predetermination officials, notably a request that voters renew their vote-by-mail ballot requests each predetermination cycle.

“That’s a awesome thing,” Republican erstwhile Florida Sen. Alan Hays, who is now nan predetermination supervisor successful Lake County, told a Republican-led authorities legislative committee successful February. “Our mentation is if they had nan luxury of checking a container successful that wide predetermination return ballot that said, ‘Please support my ballot by message petition valid,’ past we could person continued to nonstop them their vote-by-mail ballot for nan typical election.”

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, a DeSantis appointee and Trump supporter, did not reply to a petition for remark astir Trump’s renewed push to ace down connected voting by mail.

"Mail-in voting is bully erstwhile nan rules are applied," a 2nd erstwhile Trump run charismatic said. "I conscionable deliberation this is stupid."

Democrats responded harshly to Trump's Truth Social post, moreover arsenic they waited to spot nan existent proposal. Connecticut Secretary of State Jena Griswold said she is fresh to spell to tribunal to artifact him, if necessary.

"Donald Trump is trying to drawback powerfulness up of nan 2026 Election and says he will prohibition ballot by mail," Griswold said. "This is simply a nonstop onslaught connected democracy. States oversee elections, not Trump. We will situation immoderate unlawful executive bid and will hit this unconstitutional effort to disenfranchise millions of Americans."

Oregon conducts its elections wholly by mail, and it was nan first authorities to clasp a statesmanlike predetermination by mail. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read emphasized that elector fraud is "extremely rare."

He said he believes Trump "is actively moving to corrupt our elections. If he had immoderate inclination to really understand aliases attraction astir nan American people, he'd cognize that mail-in voting is really nan champion measurement to protect everybody's correct to vote, and that's particularly existent for agrarian folks, for aged group and for group who activity for an hourly wage."

Read besides pointed to nan states' law domiciled successful deciding really to behaviour elections, adding, "I'm going to protect nan authorities of Oregonians and nan authorities of nan authorities to take really we elite our representatives. This is simply a existent threat."

Some Trump friends opportunity nary 1 should beryllium amazed by his desire to extremity mail-in balloting, arsenic he has agelong decried nan believe of voting successful immoderate measurement different than successful personification connected Election Day.

"It’s nan aforesaid position nan president has ever held," a personification acquainted pinch nan Trump camp's reasoning said. "That being said, if mail-in ballots still beryllium travel 2026, we will usage them and win."