Trump's Team Pushed Congress to Outlaw Mail-In Voting: Sources Reveal
The Trump administration made a concerted effort to include a ban on most mail-in voting in the SAVE America Act, a Republican-supported voter ID initiative that recently passed the House.
This push aligns with the president's ongoing rhetoric against mail-in ballots, which he has unfoundedly labeled as susceptible to widespread fraud.
During the week leading up to the vote on the SAVE America Act, Trump took to Truth Social, declaring that Republicans must “fight” for “NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!)” asserting that “America’s Elections are Rigged, Stolen, and a Laughingstock all over the World.”
A White House webpage dedicated to the SAVE legislation reflects this sentiment.
“The president has consistently urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative measures that would create a uniform photo ID requirement for voting, eliminate no-excuse mail-in voting, and abolish ballot harvesting to safeguard our elections,” stated Abigail Jackson, a White House official.
Although the SAVE bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate, it did not incorporate restrictions on mail-in voting.
However, it mandates proof of U.S. citizenship and photo identification for voters and allows the Department of Security to access state voter rolls.
Voting without U.S. citizenship is already illegal, yet the Brennan Center estimates that around 21 million citizens lack immediate access to the necessary documentation to comply with such laws.
Proponents of the president's voting agenda argue it is a measure against voter fraud, a phenomenon that research indicates is exceedingly rare and largely insignificant.
“This is how you stop them from stealing it,” remarked Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee regarding the bill.
Opponents of the SAVE Act and another GOP proposal in the House, which seeks to ban universal mail-in voting, restrict ballot counting post-election day, and eliminate ranked-choice voting, contend that the president and his supporters are attempting to complicate voting processes during a midterm election season where they are expected to lose ground to Democrats.
“If you were genuinely concerned about our elections, you would be encouraging people to vote,” Rep. Joseph D. Morelle of New York told reporters this week. “The larger point is this: They are doing everything possible to disrupt the elections.”
Despite Trump's assertions, Republicans in key battleground states have been actively promoting mail-in voting among their supporters for months.
“Treating early voting as optional or something only Democrats do is a losing gamble,” Wisconsin Republican Party chair Brian Schimming stated in December.
Interestingly, Trump himself has utilized mail-in voting in past elections.
The former president has sought to impose greater federal oversight over elections, an area primarily governed by state law according to the Constitution.
He has called for Republicans to “nationalize” election control and has threatened to enforce voter ID requirements without congressional consent.
“We cannot allow the Democrats to continue with NO VOTER I.D. any longer,” Trump asserted in a Truth Social post on Friday afternoon. “These are horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS.”
“I have explored every conceivable legal argument not yet articulated or vetted on this matter and will present an irrefutable case shortly,” he added in another post. “There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether Congress approves it or not!”
