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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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President Donald Trump said he will issue an executive order to end the use of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a move that would spark legal challenges by states.
Trump, who has long argued that mail-in ballots and voting machines are vulnerable to election fraud, though evidence of it happening in practice in the U.S. is scant, made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday morning.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Senior Spokesperson Marcus W. Robinson told Newsweek that Trump's promise is "legally baseless" and said it "threatens the voting rights of millions of Americans, including military families and voters abroad."
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Democrats support mail-in balloting because it widens access to voting to people who struggle or are unable to vote in person, such as the elderly and disabled, and say ending it would effectively disenfranchise a large number of voters.
But Trump and the Republicans say there is a substantial risk of electoral fraud from mail-in voting and that voting machines could be hacked by malactors.
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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, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election," Trump wrote.
Such action through executive order would prompt legal challenges by states, who have the constitutional authority to determine how they administer federal elections, though Congress can set the rules through legislation.
"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."
The DNC's Robinson said Trump is "so terrified he is going to lose the midterms that he is attempting an illegal redistricting scheme, and now he's attacking mail-in voting even though he encouraged his own supporters to vote by mail in the last election."
"As always, Trump is trying to find a way to blame everyone else for his inevitable failure. Democrats will continue working to ensure every eligible American can cast their ballot and have it counted," Robinson said.
Trump Can't Change Election Rules by Executive Order: Experts
"The rules for running elections, even federal elections, cannot be changed by executive order," Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, told Newsweek.
"Any changes would have to be made by Congress. And even Congress can't change how states run state elections."
James A. Gardner, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law, said the president can only execute laws made by Congress, not make law himself.
"Congress does have the power to regulate federal elections, but Congress has not enacted any legislation forbidding anything but paper ballots in federal elections," Gardner told Newsweek. "If and when it does, the president would have the power to enforce it.
"Second, no part of the federal government, including Congress, has the power to regulate state and local elections, so it is up to states to choose their preferred voting procedures and equipment.
"The only exception is when Congress enacts a law to enforce the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments, which prohibit discrimination in voting. I do not read Mr. Trump's message as claiming that mail ballots or voting machines discriminate on the basis of race or religion, for example."
Update 8/18/25 12:36 p.m. ET: A comment from a DNC spokesman was added.
Update 8/18/25, 9:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with more information.
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