WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will lead a nationwide effort to abolish mail-in voting and voting machines, vowing instead to implement paper ballots as part of a sweeping election integrity initiative.
The announcement, first reported by The Gateway Pundit, comes just hours before Trump’s high-profile White House meetings with Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump’s Call for Paper Ballots
Posting on Truth Social, Trump declared his intent to sign an executive order that would dismantle what he described as a “deeply flawed system.” He singled out mail-in ballots and electronic voting machines as the greatest threats to fair elections.
“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, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper,” Trump wrote.
According to Trump, paper ballots leave “NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election.”
Criticism of Mail-In Voting
Trump further argued that the United States is “the only nation that still uses mail-in voting,” claiming other countries abandoned the practice after widespread fraud.
“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 said.
The President tied the issue to larger concerns about Democratic policies, linking election integrity to immigration, cultural issues, and what he described as “radical left agendas.”
States vs. Federal Government
One of the more striking elements of Trump’s announcement was his assertion that states act as “agents of the federal government” when it comes to vote tabulation.
He insisted that state governments “must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, for the good of our country.”
This claim is likely to spark intense debate, as election administration has historically been managed at the state level.
Trump’s Broader Case
In his post, Trump doubled down on the argument that Democrats depend on mail-in voting to win elections.
“Elections can never be honest with mail-in ballots/voting, and everybody, in particular the Democrats, knows this. I, and the Republican Party, will fight like hell to bring honesty and integrity back to our elections,” he said.
The President concluded his remarks by warning that both secure borders and honest elections are “essential to the survival of the nation.”
Recent Controversies
Trump’s announcement comes as election-related incidents have drawn increasing attention. Over the weekend, officials in Michigan investigated an elected Democrat accused of placing multiple mail-in ballots into a drop box.
While details of that case remain under review, it has fueled Republican calls for stricter ballot safeguards.
What Comes Next
The White House has not provided a timeline for Trump’s executive order, but aides confirmed that the initiative will be pursued well before the 2026 midterm elections.
If enacted, the plan would represent the most dramatic overhaul of the American voting system in decades.
Supporters argue that paper ballots are the most transparent and reliable method of ensuring accurate elections. Critics counter that Trump’s proposals amount to federal overreach and would dismantle modernized systems that states have spent billions implementing.
What is clear is that Trump intends to make election integrity a defining issue of his administration, positioning the move as a fight not just over ballots — but over the future of American democracy itself.
