Trump raises end to mail-in ballots after claiming Putin questioned their security

President Trump on Monday vowed to "get rid of" mail-in ballots and said he would sign an executive order "to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections."Why it matters: While he shifted his tune before the 2024 election to promote absentee voting, Trump has long railed against mail-in voting — and he's back to singing that song. In harmony with him, Trump recently claimed on Fox News, is Russian President Vladimir Putin.The president didn't mention Putin his Monday Truth Social post, but following the leaders' Alaska summit on Friday, Trump relayed to Fox's Sean Hannity that Putin told him, "Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting."Driving the news: Trump said he'd also target "Highly 'Inaccurate,' Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES."Trump has argued mail-in voting was a source of cheating in the 2020 election, despite there being no evidence of widespread fraud.Trump also incorrectly claimed that the U.S. is the only country in the world that uses mail-in voting. Many countries offer some form of postal voting.In addition to domestic mail-in voting, millions of Americans who live overseas are eligible to vote absentee, such as military members and their families.Worth noting: Trump claimed the states are merely "an agent" for the federal government in tabulating votes and must do what the president tells them. But the Constitution says the times, places and manners of holding elections for Congress "shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof," subject to Congress adopting or altering state requirements — except as to the place of choosing Senators, per Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.Provisions of Trump's March executive order making sweeping changes to federal elections, including a proof of citizenship requirement, have been blocked in court.Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown law professor, described Trump's comments as "bluster" in a social media post, saying the Constitution "gives precisely zero power over elections to the President."Reality check: "ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING," Trump wrote.Vote.gov, however, says that states have security measures in place to ensure all returned ballots are official and filled out by the proper eligible voter.Catch up quick: In his sit-down with Hannity, Trump said that Putin told him that "it's impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections."He further claimed that the Russian president told him he won the election of 2020 "by so much," which Trump has continued to claim years after his loss to Biden and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack that followed."And he said, 'And you lost it because of mail-in voting. It was a rigged election," Trump said. While Putin's alleged comments are being passed on via a game of Trump-telephone, he has in the past claimed U.S. elections were falsified through mail-in voting.What they're saying: White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement provided to Axios that Trump "wants to secure America's elections and protect the vote, restoring the integrity of our elections by requiring voter ID, ensuring no illegal ballots are cast, and preventing cheating through lax and incompetent voting laws in states like California and New York."Go deeper: Trump signs order to overhaul federal elections processEditor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the White House.

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