President Donald J. Trump reportedly announced Saturday that he intends to sign an executive order requiring voter identification for every ballot cast in the United States, vowing there would be “no exceptions” in his push to overhaul the nation’s election system.
In a post to his social media platform Truth Social, Mr. Trump said he would also sharply restrict voting by mail and mandate the use of paper ballots nationwide. “Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!” he wrote. “Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!”
The proposal marks the most aggressive step yet in Mr. Trump’s campaign to reshape election practices, many of which expanded during the pandemic.
Thirty-six states currently require some form of identification to vote, though requirements vary: 25 demand photo IDs, while 11 accept non-photo documents. Fourteen states, including New York, Illinois and California, impose no ID requirements at all.
For years, conservatives have argued that voter identification laws are a common-sense safeguard against fraud, pointing out that IDs are already required for everyday activities like boarding a plane or purchasing alcohol.
Mr. Trump’s move would extend those requirements uniformly across all 50 states.
The president has also made clear that he views mail-in voting as a central threat to election integrity. Earlier this month, he vowed to “lead a movement” to abolish the practice. On August 18, he attacked “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES” and repeated his claim that voting by mail invites abuse. “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,” he posted.
Mr. Trump argued that his order is necessary to secure the coming midterm elections. “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 wrote.
He has repeatedly contended that Democrats rely heavily on mail ballots for electoral success. “The Democrats are virtually Unelectable without mail-in voting,” he declared. “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS.”
Statistics from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission show that in 2024, most Americans voted in person. Roughly 37.4 percent of voters cast ballots on Election Day, while another 35.2 percent voted early in person.
Mail-in ballots accounted for 30.3 percent of turnout—down from the pandemic peak of 43 percent in 2020, but higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Mr. Trump’s order, if implemented, would align the United States more closely with other nations that have eliminated large-scale absentee voting, while instituting nationwide voter ID requirements that polls consistently show are supported by majorities of Americans across party lines.
Framing the move as essential to restoring faith in democracy, Mr. Trump has positioned himself once again at the center of the debate over how Americans vote. His message was direct: paper ballots, strict ID, and limited mail voting are, in his view, the only path to “honest” elections.
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