President Donald Trump said on 18 August he is drafting an executive order that would abolish mail-in ballots and most electronic voting machines nationwide before the November 2026 midterm elections. Writing on his social-media platform and later speaking at the White House, Trump called mail-in voting a “fraud” and said states are “merely an agent” of the federal government when counting votes. He added that the measure would also replace machines he described as inaccurate and costly with paper ballots featuring watermarks. Trump’s announcement marks a sharp reversal from 2024, when Republicans promoted early and absentee voting. Roughly 30% of ballots were mailed in the 2024 general election, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and states such as Arizona routinely rely on the practice for more than four-fifths of their ballots. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that no country can run an honest election with mail-in voting, a claim contradicted by numerous democracies that use the method. Election lawyers and state officials quickly questioned the legality of Trump’s plan. The U.S. Constitution gives state legislatures primary authority over election rules, subject to acts of Congress, not unilateral executive action. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said any order “will have no bearing” on his state’s elections, while Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon noted that dozens of countries and every U.S. state permit some form of postal voting. Courts are expected to consider any executive order if it is issued.