Trump Vows To End Mail-In Ballots: What GA Voters Need To Know

President Donald Trump vowed on his social media platform this week to make changes in how U.S. elections are conducted, including one that would end mail-in voting for the 2026 midterms.

Trump pledged on his social media site that he would do away with both mail voting and voting machines. Trump’s post came after the president told Fox News that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their Friday meeting in Alaska, echoed his grievances about mail voting and the 2020 election.

Trump has claimed there is “massive fraud” due to mail voting, when in fact voting fraud in the U.S. is rare. As an example, an Associated Press review after the 2020 election found fewer than 475 cases of potential fraud in the six battleground states where he disputed his loss, far too few to tip that election to Trump.

Here’s what Georgia voters need to know about mail-in voting:

Georgia Election Laws

Here are some of the key provisions in Georgia election laws as they relate to mail-in voting:

• Absentee ballots are mailed to voters and need to be returned to the designated county election office before polls close on Election Day to be counted.
• Voters have several options to request absentee ballots and for returning the completed ballots, including hand-delivery or drop-off.
• Georgia's law requires photo ID while voting — either in-person or absentee.

The state secretary's office sent WXIA-TV this comment regarding Trump's latest move:

"The Secretary doesn’t have any comments to weigh in, other than Georgia’s election security remains the gold standard – photo ID for all forms of voting. Our system works for Georgia voters. That’s why Fox News, CNN, Heritage, and the Bipartisan Policy Center give us top marks."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger doubled down, telling WSB-TV that “everything we worked on builds voter trust, and trust is the real gold standard.”

In that same report, Democratic Party of Georgia Chairperson Charlie Bailey said these types of election matters stay at the state at the level, leaving presidents with no related power.

In the November 2024 general election, 344,423 Georgians received mail-in ballots. Of this, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office reported 286,191 ballots were accepted. (See numbers by county).

New voting machines came to Georgia for the 2020 presidential election, during which residents cast their ballots using Dominion voting systems. At the time, Raffensperger touted the machines, saying Georgians liked the new system that promoted confidence in the paper ballot process.

States Run Elections

Constitutionally, Trump is on shaky ground. Unlike in many countries, elections are run by states.

Trump claimed in his social media post that states “are merely an agent for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes” and must do what the federal government “as represented by the President of the United States” tells them to do.

Election lawyers said that’s a misrepresentation of the U.S. Constitution.

A Patchwork Of State Laws

Two states with vote-by-mail elections, Washington and Oregon, are challenging an earlier executive order by Trump that sought to require that all ballots be received by Election Day (not just postmarked).

The states argue the president has no such authority, and they are seeking a declaration from a federal judge in Seattle that their postmark deadlines do not conflict with federal law setting the date of U.S. elections.

Six other states and Washington, D.C., allow elections to be conducted entirely by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Vermont.

States have a patchwork of election laws that accommodate their individual needs and circumstances.

Counties in North Dakota and Nebraska can opt for elections by mail, and nine states — Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming — allow specific small elections to be conducted by mail. Additionally, Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey and New Mexico permit mostly mail elections for certain small jurisdictions.

What’s The Issue With Voting Machines?

Trump said in his post that voting machines are more expensive than “Watermark Paper,” a little-used system that has gained favor and investments among some voting conspiracy theorists who believe it would help prevent fraudulent ballots from being introduced into the vote count.

However, watermark paper would still have to be fed through some sort of tabulating machine.

While some jurisdictions still have voters use electronic ballot-marking devices to cast their votes, the majority of U.S. voters already vote on paper ballots, creating an auditable record of votes that provides an extra safeguard for election security.

What Happens Next?

Only Congress can implement new election rules under the Constitution. While the document is clear that state entities determine the “time, place and manner of elections, it does allow Congress to “make” or “alter” rules for congressional and presidential elections. Importantly, the president isn’t mentioned at all in the Constitution’s list of entities with powers over elections.

Although Republicans control Congress, it’s unclear that even his party would want to eliminate voting machines nationwide, possibly delaying vote tallies in their own races by weeks or months. Even if they did, legislation would likely be unable to pass because Democrats could filibuster it in the U.S. Senate.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.