Trump vows to target mail-in ballots ahead of midterm election
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US President Donald Trump has long pressed his fellow Republicans to try harder to overhaul the US voting system.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Aug 18 that he would sign an executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, saying he would lead “a movement” targeting mail-in balloting and voting machines across the country.
“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,” he wrote in a social media post, without providing any evidence.
“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,” he added.
Mr Trump, a Republican, previously signed a March 25 executive order targeting elections, which has been blocked by the courts after Democrat-led states sued.
States run elections separately in each of the 50 US states, but Mr Trump warned them to comply.
“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,” Mr Trump wrote.
The Republican President’s comments follow his meeting with his Russian counterpart on Aug 15, in which Mr Trump said Mr Vladimir Putin agreed with him on ending mail-in balloting
Mr Trump, who promoted the false narrative that he, not Democrat Joe Biden, won the 2020 election, has long pressed his fellow Republicans to try harder to overhaul the US voting system.
He also voted by mail in some previous elections and urged his supporters to do so in 2024. REUTERS
