In a fiery social media post on Monday, President Donald Trump declared a new war on mail-in voting, vowing to lead a movement to eliminate it and promising to use his executive power to overhaul how elections are run.
But his post did more than just attack a voting method used by millions of Americans in both parties. It made a series of factually incorrect claims and, most significantly, asserted a vision of presidential power that is found nowhere in the U.S. Constitution.
The President’s statement puts him at direct odds with the plain text of the nation’s founding document, creating a potential constitutional showdown over who actually controls American elections.
At a Glance: Trump’s Election Claims
- What’s Happening: President Trump has vowed to “get rid of” mail-in ballots and voting machines, starting with an executive order.
- The False Claims: He falsely claimed the U.S. is the only country that uses mail-in voting and that states must follow a President’s directives on how to run elections.
- The Reality: Dozens of developed democracies use mail-in voting. There is no evidence of the widespread fraud the President alleges.
- The Constitutional Issue: The Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4) explicitly gives the power to run federal elections to state legislatures and Congress, not the President.
Fact-Checking the Claims
Before we get to the constitutional conflict, it’s important to establish the facts. The President’s post contained several significant factual inaccuracies.
He claimed, “We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting.” This is demonstrably false. Dozens of other established democracies, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia, have used mail-in voting for years.
The President also repeatedly referred to mail-in voting as a “SCAM” used by Democrats to “CHEAT.” While elections experts note that fraud is marginally more common with mail-in ballots than with in-person voting, they also stress that the rate of fraud is exceedingly small in either case. It is not a partisan tool; the Republican-led state of Utah has run its elections almost entirely by mail for years with no evidence of widespread fraud.
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, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election. We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED. 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. 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. With their HORRIBLE Radical Left policies, like Open Borders, Men Playing in Women’s Sports, Transgender and “WOKE” for everyone, and so much more, Democrats are virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In SCAM. 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. THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!! REMEMBER, WITHOUT FAIR AND HONEST ELECTIONS, AND STRONG AND POWERFUL BORDERS, YOU DON’T HAVE EVEN A SEMBLANCE OF A COUNTRY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Constitutional Collision: Who Runs Elections?
The most significant part of the President’s post was not his attack on mail-in voting, but his stunning claim about his own power.
“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… to do.” – President Donald Trump
This is not what the Constitution says.
The rules for federal elections are explicitly laid out in Article I, Section 4, often called the Elections Clause:
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations…”
The language is unambiguous. State legislatures get the primary power to set the rules for federal elections. Congress has the ultimate authority to step in and create a national law that overrides the states.
“The President’s claim of authority over state elections is not a matter of interpretation; it is in direct contradiction to the plain text of Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.”
The President is given no role in this process. This is a foundational principle of federalism and the separation of powers.
The Limits of an Executive Order
The President’s promise to begin his effort by signing an executive order further highlights this constitutional conflict.
An executive order is a powerful tool, but it is not a law. It is a directive from the President to the agencies and employees of the federal executive branch. An executive order cannot be used to command state governments to change their laws, nor can it usurp a power – like running elections – that the Constitution explicitly gives to the legislative branch.
“An executive order cannot rewrite a state’s election law, any more than it can rewrite a law passed by Congress. To do so would be a clear violation of the separation of powers.”
A Test of Foundational Principles
The President’s post is more than just a political attack on a voting method he dislikes. It is a fundamental challenge to the constitutional structure of American elections.
It both misrepresents the facts about a secure and widely used voting method and, more alarmingly, asserts a vision of unilateral presidential power over elections that simply does not exist in the Constitution.
The promised executive order will be a significant test of the principles of federalism and the separation of powers that have governed our elections for over 230 years.