FactChecking Trump’s Claims About Mail-In Ballots, Voting Machines and States’ Role

President Donald Trump launched his second-term battle connected mail-in ballots and physics voting machines connected Aug. 18, firing disconnected a bid of unfounded claims portion announcing an effort to bash distant with both.

The president began the time with a post on Truth Social saying helium would “lead a question to get escaped of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, portion we’re astatine it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES.” Trump said helium was moving connected an enforcement bid to people some voting methods. He repeated his intentions aboriginal successful the time portion answering reporters’ questions alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful the White House.

Trump made acquainted unsupported oregon mendacious claims astir mail-in voting and voting machines, and a caller assertion astir a president’s powerfulness and the relation of states successful the predetermination process:

• The president wrongly claimed “[w]e are present the lone Country successful the World that uses Mail-in Voting.” Eleven different nations let each their voters to usage immoderate signifier of mail-in voting, and 22 further countries let immoderate voters to formed ballots by mail.

• Trump said that “States are simply an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government successful counting and tabulating the votes. They indispensable bash what the Federal Government, arsenic represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.” But experts told america that the Constitution gives states the authorization to tally elections, with oversight from Congress, and the president has nary nonstop role.

• He continued to baselessly assertion “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD” associated with mail-in voting. Experts accidental that portion fraud is somewhat much prevalent with mail-in voting than in-person voting, it is inactive comparatively rare, and determination is nary grounds to enactment claims of wide fraud.

• Trump besides took purpose astatine voting machines, calling them “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial.” There is nary grounds the machines are inaccurate. And portion the president continued to telephone for insubstantial ballots, that’s already the norm successful astir each state.

Trump has been making false and unsubstantiated claims astir voting fraud ever since helium entered politics, and helium has consistently and falsely claimed the 2020 election, which helium lost, was “rigged.”

Other Countries Allow Mail-In Voting

In his Truth Social post, Trump claimed, “We are present the lone Country successful the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up due to the fact that of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.”

At a property briefing with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy successful the Oval Office aboriginal successful the day, Trump said helium was moving connected an enforcement bid “to extremity mail-in ballots due to the fact that they’re corrupt. And you cognize that we’re the lone state successful the world, I believe, I whitethorn beryllium wrong, but conscionable astir the lone state successful the satellite that uses it due to the fact that of what’s happened, monolithic fraud each implicit the place.”

During an Aug. 15 interrogation with Fox News big Sean Hannity, Trump also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him during their acme gathering successful Alaska, “‘Your predetermination was rigged due to the fact that you person mail-in voting. … No state has mail-in voting.'”

We don’t cognize what Putin mightiness person told Trump astir mail-in voting successful different nations. But we bash cognize that galore countries too the United States utilize mail-in voting successful their elections.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an enactment that advances antiauthoritarian governmental processes astir the world, successful 2024 reported that 11 nations too the U.S. let each their voters to usage immoderate signifier of mail-in voting, oregon what the International IDEA refers to arsenic “postal voting.” Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Twenty-two different nations allow immoderate voters to usage postal voting, though the reasons alteration by country. Among the groups allowed to ballot by message successful those countries are citizens surviving successful distant areas oregon abroad, incarcerated citizens, radical who are hospitalized oregon person disabilities, and those with immoderate different inability to ballot successful person. Countries that let immoderate citizens to ballot by message see Australia, France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Spain.

The International IDEA describes “postal voting” arsenic “a voting method wherever voters person and people their insubstantial ballots successful an uncontrolled situation (e.g. home) and past nonstop the filled ballots successful a instrumentality envelope with their idiosyncratic details for processing and counting. While postal voting is successful rule aboriginal voting, it differs successful that the ballot tin beryllium physically submitted remotely by the voters themselves. The word ‘postal’ refers to the postal service, historically the main method for sending and returning ballots.”

The Pew Research Center reported successful October 2020, “Out of 166 countries for which information is available, 40 utilized postal ballots successful their astir caller nationalist election, according to state experts surveyed earlier the COVID-19 outbreak by the Electoral Integrity Project. Postal ballots were utilized astir wide successful Europe and North America and are besides communal successful immoderate countries successful the Asia-Pacific region, specified arsenic India, Indonesia, South Korea and Sri Lanka. Postal ballots were not disposable successful astir African and Caribbean countries, and not disposable successful immoderate Middle Eastern oregon Latin American countries.”

Role of States successful Elections

The president mischaracterized the relation of states successful moving elections, penning successful his Truth Social post, “the States are simply an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government successful counting and tabulating the votes. They indispensable bash what the Federal Government, arsenic represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”

In his Aug. 18 Oval Office remarks, Trump said his medication was moving connected an enforcement bid to “end mail-in ballots.” 

We talked to fractional a twelve experts, and they agreed that states don’t run arsenic an “agent” of the national authorities and the president has nary nonstop authorization implicit the counting and tabulating of ballots.

“[S]tates are astir definitely not agents of the national authorities erstwhile it comes to elections, oregon thing else, and adjacent more, to the grade that the national authorities tin specify rules for running, the powerfulness lies with Congress, not the president,” Kenneth Mayer, a prof of American authorities astatine the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told america successful an email.

The mode U.S. elections are tally is “highly decentralized,” according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, National Conference of State Legislatures, predetermination instrumentality experts and a study from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

“Elections are chiefly administered by thousands of authorities and section systems alternatively than a single, unified nationalist system,” the CRS explained successful a 2019 report.

The crushed for this goes backmost to the Constitution, which gives the authorization to tally elections to the states, but says that Congress tin alteration those regulations successful a clause that specifies, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall beryllium prescribed successful each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress whitethorn astatine immoderate clip by Law marque oregon change specified Regulations, but arsenic to the Places of chusing Senators.”

“The Framers’ inclusion of the Elections Clause was driven by 2 overlapping concerns of existent relevance: a absorption connected practice and a distrust of authorities lawmakers,” a 2021 instrumentality reappraisal article connected the past and usage of the clause explained. The framers were acrophobic astir corruption among section officials, the insubstantial said, truthful they added legislature authorization to alteration the rules implemented by those officials.

“There was comparatively small treatment astatine the clip of excluding the president from that, but they precise intelligibly did not see the president and there’s precise bully crushed for that,” Sean Morales-Doyle, manager of the voting rights and elections programme astatine the Brennan Center for Justice, told america successful a telephone interview.

First, the relation of the enforcement is to execute the rules, not marque them, helium said. Second, the framers apt wanted to debar “exactly what we are witnessing close now,” which is simply a president attempting to interfere with elections with the imaginable to service his ain interests.

Congress has, connected occasion, exercised its power to alteration states’ predetermination rules, according to the National Constitution Center. For example, it has: established a nationalist Election Day; constricted however overmuch wealth radical tin lend to candidates for Congress and required that they publically disclose run spending; required states to marque definite their elector rolls are accurate.

Congress besides passed the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act — each of which impact the medication of elections, Mayer pointed out.

“Under the Elections Clause, Congress does person the powerfulness to modulate the mode successful which nationalist elections are held,” agreed Richard Pildes, a law instrumentality prof astatine New York University School of Law. He told america successful an email, “In theory, that means Congress could determine what policies should use to absentee ballots oregon aboriginal voting oregon akin aspects of the predetermination process. But the heavy and long-standing signifier astir these issues is that Congress lets the states marque their ain argumentation choices connected specified matters.”

While Congress could conceivably destruct mail-in voting for national elections, “there whitethorn beryllium law issues progressive related to adjacent extortion and different law rights,” Mayer said.

And, arsenic a applicable matter, Trump whitethorn tally into a occupation uncovering enactment for specified a alteration successful Congress. For example, caller election-related authorities called the SAVE Act, which would necessitate documentary grounds of citizenship successful bid to registry to vote, stalled successful the Senate last year and has been stalled again since April.

“So, that gives you a consciousness of the governmental will,” Morales-Doyle said.

John Fortier, a elder chap astatine the blimpish American Enterprise Institute, agreed that determination is nary nonstop relation for the president, but helium told america successful a telephone interrogation that Trump whitethorn person a way to affecting predetermination medication by applying unit to agencies wrong the enforcement branch, specified arsenic the Department of Justice.

Many of the country’s voting rights laws person travel retired of actions taken by the Justice Department, helium said. So, leaning connected that and different executive subdivision agencies mightiness output immoderate results for the president.

But, “the large representation is that it’s chiefly tally by the states,” Fortier said, and the president isn’t straight involved.

Unsupported Claims About Mail-in Voting Fraud

Trump continues to baselessly claim “MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD” associated with mail-in voting, which helium referred to arsenic the “completely disproven Mail-In SCAM.”

“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS,” Trump wrote connected Truth Social. Speaking successful the Oval Office connected Aug. 18, Trump again called mail-in voting “corrupt,” and helium vowed Republicans “are going to bash everything possible” to get escaped of it.

Elections experts have told us for years that predetermination fraud is somewhat much prevalent with mail-in voting than it is with in-person voting. But, they say, it is inactive uncommon and has ne'er been proven to person occurred often capable to person changed the result of a nationalist election.

Currently, 36 states and Washington, D.C., allow no-excuse mail-in voting, including nine states that ballot mostly by mail. No excuse means immoderate elector tin petition a mail-in ballot. All states let astatine slightest some voters to ballot by mail, for reasons specified arsenic unwellness oregon disablement oregon due to the fact that the idiosyncratic is retired of their location region connected Election Day.

“There was nary reliable grounds of mail-in ballots utilized to manipulate the 2020 election, wherever Trump made his claims during covid,” Richard L. Hasen, a prof of instrumentality and manager of the Safeguarding Democracy Project astatine UCLA, told america via email.

“We’ve been voting by message since the Civil War, and the mechanisms for making message ballots safe, accurate, and reliable person improved mightily since then,” Justin Levitt, a instrumentality prof astatine Loyola Marymount University and an predetermination instrumentality adept who served during the Biden medication arsenic the White House’s archetypal elder argumentation advisor for ideology and voting rights, told america via email. “That’s portion of wherefore President Trump has himself voted by mail. We’ve been backmost and distant with these unfounded claims for the past 10 years, and there’s nary much information to them present than determination has been.” (Trump has voted occasionally by mail, including successful the 2020 superior election and the 2018 midterm elections. He voted aboriginal in-person successful the wide elections successful 2020 and 2024.)

David Becker, laminitis and enforcement manager of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, said that contrary to Trump’s claims, getting escaped of mail-in voting “which is offered by the immense bulk of states, reddish and blue, is an incredibly atrocious thought that would marque our elections overmuch little unafraid and susceptible to interference.”

Trump besides wrongly claimed that Democratic President Jimmy Carter, who headed up an predetermination committee successful 2005, concluded, “‘The 1 happening astir message successful voting, you volition ne'er person an honorable predetermination if you person message successful it.’” That’s not accurate. The committee Carter co-chaired did warn astir the accrued hazard of fraud with mail-in voting, and a decreased quality to observe it, but the committee suggested measures to lessen that risk. Carter himself was an advocator for mail-in voting.

Baseless Claims About ‘Inaccurate’ Voting Machines

Trump besides took purpose — without grounds — astatine what he called, “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES.” Trump further criticized voting machines arsenic “A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER.”

“The different happening we privation changed are the machines,” Trump said connected Aug. 18. “For each of the wealth they spend, it’s astir 10 times much costly than insubstantial ballots. And insubstantial ballots are precise sophisticated, with the watermark insubstantial and everything else. We would get unafraid elections. We’d get overmuch faster results.”

In fact, Trump’s ain Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency concluded the 2020 predetermination “was the astir unafraid successful American history” and that determination was “no grounds that immoderate voting strategy deleted oregon mislaid votes, changed votes, oregon was successful immoderate mode compromised.”

William Barr, who served arsenic the U.S. lawyer wide nether Trump, told a House committee successful grounds released June 13, 2022: “In my sentiment then, and my sentiment now, is that the predetermination was not stolen by fraud, and I haven’t seen thing since the predetermination that changes my caput connected that.”

Barr told the committee the predetermination fraud claims the Trump campy was “shoveling retired to the nationalist … was bullshit.” Barr said claims astir Dominion Voting Systems voting machines, successful particular, were “idiotic” and “disturbing successful the consciousness that I saw perfectly zero ground for the allegations. But they were made successful specified a sensational mode that they evidently were influencing a batch of radical — members of the nationalist — that determination was this systemic corruption successful the strategy and that their votes didn’t number and that these machines controlled by idiosyncratic other were really determining it, which was implicit nonsense.”

There was ne'er “any grounds that voting machines are being manipulated,” Hasen told us.

Becker, of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, told us, “Requiring states to destruct oregon regenerate the voting machines that confirmed the predetermination of this president, conscionable 15 months earlier a midterm predetermination and little than a twelvemonth earlier primaries, is not possible, and would effect successful chaos.”

Nor would it beryllium cheaper, arsenic Trump said, Matthew Weil, vice president of ideology and bipartisanship astatine the Bipartisan Policy Center, told america successful a telephone interview. Most Americans contiguous are voting via a hand-marked insubstantial ballot, with the voting machines acting arsenic “glorified scanners,” helium said. Because determination are insubstantial ballots, helium said, it is imaginable to bash recounts by manus if determination are concerns astir the tabulated results. There would apt not beryllium immoderate savings to power to a caller system, helium said, since astir states person already transitioned to the insubstantial ballot strategy with physics counters.

Some states bash usage watermarked insubstantial to signify authoritative ballots, helium said. But that insubstantial is much expensive, and truthful requiring each states to determination to specified insubstantial would adhd to costs, not nutrient savings.

Becker noted that successful galore defamation cases, those who echoed Trump’s claims, including Fox News, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, had opportunities to support their attacks connected Dominion voting machines arsenic existent “and each suspect failed to contiguous adjacent a shred of evidence.” Fox News reached a settlement successful its lawsuit successful 2023, agreeing to wage Dominion $787 million.

On Aug. 18, the blimpish cablegram web Newsmax paid $67 cardinal to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion for falsely claiming that the institution had rigged votes successful the 2020 election. Newsmax admitted nary wrongdoing and didn’t retract its stories, the New York Times reported. In 2024, Newsmax settled with different voting systems company, Smartmatic USA, successful a lawsuit related to mendacious claims astir fraud successful the 2020 election.

As for Trump’s telephone to instrumentality to insubstantial ballots, “Louisiana is, as acold arsenic I’m aware, the lone authorities successful which machines are utilized that don’t nutrient a insubstantial ballot than tin beryllium separately verified by some voters and predetermination officials, taxable to cautious audits,” Levitt told us.

The voting machines utilized successful the 2020 predetermination are “safe, accurate, and reliable, and rigorously tested by section officials,” Levitt said. “They besides supply existent accessibility, required by national instrumentality but benefiting each of america — peculiarly voters with disabilities, voters who’d similar the font to beryllium a spot bigger oregon the surface to beryllium a spot lighter, and voters who’d similar to besides spot the ballot successful a antithetic language.”

“Our elections are arsenic secure, transparent, and verified than ever earlier successful American history, acknowledgment to the thousands of nonrecreational predetermination officials of some parties, astatine the authorities and section level, that oversee them,” Becker said. “We person much verifiable, recountable insubstantial ballots than ever before, with 98% of each American voters voting connected insubstantial (only Louisiana without). We person audits of those ballots that corroborate the results.”

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