Trump Signs Executive Order 'Ensuring' Mail-In Voting 'Integrity'

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at 'ensuring' mail-in voting 'integrity' ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Details: The executive order places new restrictions on mail-in voting and requires lists to be created in each state of citizens who are eligible to vote. Those individuals would be the only ones who could receive absentee ballots. The lists would be made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration. These reforms are certain to face legal challenges in the courts, and election officials in Arizona and Oregon have already pledged to sue. Trump has moved to assert more federal control over voting, while states run most aspects of elections.

Key Quote: "The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It's horrible what's going on," Trump said. "I think this will help a lot with elections."

For Context: The courts blocked a March 2025 executive order that prohibited the counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day and set new identification requirements for voter registration. Tuesday's executive order comes as the Save America Act is stuck on Capitol Hill.

How the Media Covered It: A number of sources on the left called the executive order a restrictive crackdown that would target and limit voting rights. AP News (Left bias) called the executive order "the latest in a torrent of efforts" by Trump to interfere with the voting process. On the right, the executive order was seen as a protective order that Townhall (Right) said is '"consequential." Breitbart (Right) reported that the government will be able to verify the number of barcodes to ballots received.

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