US President Donald Trump says he will move to end the use of mail-in ballots and electronic voting machines before the 2026 midterm elections, a move that is already drawing sharp opposition from Democrats and state officials.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced he would sign an executive order prohibiting both methods, calling voting machines “highly inaccurate, very expensive, and seriously controversial.” He argued that only paper ballots, cast and counted by hand, can restore public confidence in election results.
“This will be strongly opposed by the Democrats because they cheat at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote, adding that the order is aimed at bringing "honesty to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”
The plan echoes an earlier March executive order targeting state election procedures, which was quickly challenged in court and struck down after Democrat-led states argued that the Constitution grants them — not the federal government — authority to administer elections.
On Monday, Trump suggested that states function as “agents of the federal government in counting and tabulating the votes,” and must therefore comply with his directive.
Legal experts quoted by Reuters said that claim is almost certain to trigger another constitutional showdown.
Democrats and voting rights advocates immediately pushed back.
“This is a blatant power grab that would disenfranchise millions of Americans,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led one of the earlier lawsuits against Trump’s March order.
Civil rights groups warned that banning mail-in ballots would disproportionately affect seniors, rural voters, and military families.
“Mail voting has been proven safe and secure for decades,” the Brennan Center for Justice said in a statement reported by The Guardian.
According to Reuters, Trump’s announcement also follows his recent claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with him that the United States should not allow mail-in voting.
That remark has drawn criticism from Democrats, who argue it undermines US credibility on election security.
With less than 15 months until the midterms, the president’s proposed order injects new uncertainty into how ballots will be cast and counted. Republican-led states may welcome the plan, while others are expected to mount immediate legal challenges.
