#vbm

Jim Saksa at Democracy Docket:

President Donald Trump announced he will issue a new executive order as part of a “movement to get rid of” mail-in voting. Trump railed against “MAIL-IN BALLOTS” and, “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES,” in a nearly 300-word, error-filled screed on Truth Social early Monday morning.  Trump’s bid to eliminate mail-in voting is part of a broader GOP assault on the practice. In recent years, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and allied groups have brought a slew of lawsuits aimed at making voting by mail more difficult. “We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED. 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,” Trump wrote. “Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”

A presidential order to end mail-in voting would be unconstitutional on its face. The U.S. Constitution grants the states the primary authority to regulate elections, and then empowers Congress to “at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.” The Framers never even considered authorizing the president to oversee elections. The idea that states are just agents of the federal government in any sphere, let alone voting, runs completely contrary to the federalist system the Founding Fathers established in general, and specifically runs afoul of the 10th Amendment. 

Still, that has not prevented many Republican-led states from eagerly following Trump’s earlier directives on election administration, like the executive order he issued in March that aimed to impose a proof of citizenship requirements on registration, which courts quickly blocked. That order also directed the Attorney General to “take all necessary action,” to prevent ballots mailed before Election Day, but which arrive after, from being counted. That provision has been enjoined as courts continue to consider the order’s legality. 

The U.S. is not the only country that permits mail-in voting. All eligible voters are allowed to vote by mail in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Iceland, and Denmark, among others, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The previous executive order also ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent agency, to amend its guidelines for vote-counting machines to generally ban the use of barcodes and quick-response codes while also requiring paper ballot records. [...] Trump’s — and the GOP’s — position on mail-in ballots has changed over time. Originally an opponent, Trump changed his tune during the 2024 election after campaign advisors convinced him it would help turn out his base. Similarly, the RNC has challenged postal voting laws in numerous states, while simultaneously encouraging their own voters to mail in their ballots early. 

Fascist POS Donald Trump, who regularly utilizes vote-by-mail, relitigates the GOP’s war on voting rights and VBM by planning to issue an unconstitutional executive order that would end VBM. Such a practice would harm overseas military members from casting a ballot.

Trump told a giant lie that the USA is the sole country with VBM. He’s wrong: at least 34 countries allow VBM in some form.

See Also:

The Guardian: Trump pledges to scrap mail ballots and voting machines before 2026 midterms