Trump to ban mail-in voting following Putin comments
3 Min Read
Donald Trump says lawyers are drafting an executive order to end mail-in voting, days after Vladimir Putin told him the 2020 US election was "rigged".
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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that legal teams are preparing an executive order aimed at eliminating mail-in voting, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told him that US elections were rigged due to postal ballots.
During a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump stated, "We’re going to start with an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they’re corrupt."
The initiative follows Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska last Friday. According to Trump, Putin told him the 2020 election "was rigged because you have mail-in voting," during a subsequent interview with Sean Hannity.
Trump also inaccurately claimed that former President Jimmy Carter opposed mail-in voting, saying, "Even Jimmy Carter, with this commission, they set it up. He said that the one thing about mail-in voting, you will never have an honest election if you have mail in it."
In reality, Carter supported expanding mail-in voting during the 2020 COVID pandemic. The Carter Center emphasized the importance of improving safeguards to ensure secure and accessible voting, with Carter stating, "I urge political leaders across the country to take immediate steps to expand vote-by-mail and other measures that can help protect the core of American democracy, the right of our citizens to vote."
Truth Social rant and attack on voting machines
On Monday morning, Trump posted a lengthy message on Truth Social vowing to "lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS." He also criticized electronic voting machines, calling them "Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial," and claimed they cost "Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper."
Trump further asserted, without evidence, that the US is "now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting" and claimed "All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED."
However, data from International IDEA contradicts Trump’s claims. Mail-in voting is permitted in 34 countries worldwide, 12 allow it for all voters, while 22 restrict it to specific groups. Over 100 countries permit citizens abroad to vote by mail, and most European nations offer some form of postal voting.
