President Trump is trying to put a tighter federal grip on how Americans vote by mail—and the fight is likely headed straight to court. On Tuesday, he signed an executive order aimed at limiting who can receive mail-in ballots, arguing it will curb what he called "legendary" cheating in absentee voting ahead of November's midterms, when control of Congress is at stake, Politico reports.
- "The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It's horrible, what's gone on," Trump said during the signing ceremony in the Oval Office. The AP notes, however, that a 2025 Brookings Institution report found that voting fraud occurred in only around four cases per 10 million mail ballots— 0.000043% of total mail ballots cast.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to compile a federal list of approved absentee voters. The Postal Service would be instructed to send mail-in ballots only to people on that list. It also directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and prosecute "election officials, individuals, and other entities that violate the law by issuing or distributing Federal ballots to ineligible voters," CNBC reports. The order threatens to cut federal funds from states that refuse to comply.
The move is expected to face legal challenges that could drag on past the midterms. Marc Elias, a leading Democratic voting-rights attorney, said he plans to sue, calling the order unconstitutional. "If Trump signs an unconstitutional Executive Order to take over voting, we will sue. I don't bluff and I usually win," Elias wrote on X. Officials in Oregon and Arizona also pledged to sue, accusing Trump of trying to violate their states' right to run elections, the AP reports. "We don't need decrees from Washington, DC," said Tobias Read, the Democratic secretary of state in Oregon, which has voted entirely by mail since 1998. "My message to the President: We'll see you in court."
At the signing, Trump brushed off threats to sue and expressed confidence any decision against him would be overturned on appeal, Politico reports. "You may find a rogue judge. You get a lot of rogue judges, very bad, bad people, very bad judges," he said. "But that's the only way that can be changed." Former Justice Department lawyer David Becker, however, believes the order will face the same fate as Trump's other efforts to assert control over elections. "The Constitution is very clear—the president has no power over elections in the states," Becker, who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, tells the AP. "This will be blocked as soon as lawyers can get to the courthouse."
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