President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he intends to sign an executive order banning most mail-in voting and mandating voter identification in federal elections.
“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday. “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!”
Every state allows some form of mail-in voting. In several states, including California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Nevada, and Vermont, elections are conducted primarily by mail.
Trump has made election security a central issue since the 2020 presidential election, which was marked by widespread allegations of voter fraud from his supporters. In March, he signed an executive order establishing new voter ID requirements for federal elections and directing the Department of Justice to ensure that mail-in ballots are only counted up until Election Day. That order has been met with numerous legal challenges and is still under review in the courts.
The new executive order Trump is proposing could face similar challenges. While the Constitution grants Congress some oversight of federal elections, states have broad authority to regulate how elections are conducted. Any attempt to override state mail-in voting laws is expected to face immediate lawsuits, particularly from Democratic-aligned groups that favor expanding ballot access.
Alaska is a “no-excuse” absentee voting state. All registered voters can request an absentee ballot without providing a reason. While not a primarily mail-in state like Colorado or Washington, mail-in voting is strongly practiced, particularly in rural and remote communities where in-person voting can be challenging due to geography and weather. There have been numerous instances of voter fraud in rural precincts, linked to things like personal representatives voting for people and an overabundance of ballots being tuned in, in excess of actual number of registered voters.
