The order would mandate voter identification, restrict mail-in voting, and allow paper ballots only, the US president says
US President Donald Trump has pledged to issue an executive order that would heavily restrict mail-in voting and mandate identification for every ballot. Trump has repeatedly pledged to overhaul the US voting system, alleging that it has become too susceptible to fraud.
The US president made the announcement in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, signaling that the action will have the vote-by-mail system effectively dismantled with only a few exceptions allowed.
“Voter ID must be part of every single vote. No exceptions! I will be doing an executive order to that end!!! He added: “Also, no mail-in voting, except for those are very ill, and the far away military. Use paper ballots only!!!”
Earlier this month, Trump revealed the executive order concerning the voting system is “being written … by the best lawyers in the country.”
The US president has long been critical of the country’s election system and has repeatedly pledged to overhaul it. Trump has repeatedly blamed his 2020 loss to Joe Biden on widespread fraud, claiming mass voting by non-citizens and irregularities in mail-in voting, among other complaints. He has also questioned voting machines, pushing for paper ballots and manual counting instead.
Voting rights groups, however, have criticized Trump’s plans to overhaul the system. Mandatory identification has been among the most contentious issues. Rights groups argue that a sizeable chunk of eligible US voters do not have such documents on hand. According to a 2023 report compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups, some 21.3 million people, which is around 9% of US citizens of voting age, do not have proof of citizenship readily available.
It also remains unclear whether the US president will actually be able to enforce the changes, given that federal elections are administered at the state level. Trump’s critics have been accusing him of overstepping his authority, arguing that the president does not have explicit constitutional powers to change the election system.
