Trump vows to eliminate mail-in voting. What that means for WA
Trump vows to eliminate mail-in voting. What that means for WA
President Trump announced that he plans to write an executive order to end mail-in voting, claiming it leads to widespread voter fraud. AG Nick Brown is expected to file an injunction to block Trump's executive order ending mail-in voting, should such an order be signed.
SEATTLE - President Trump announced that he plans to write an executive order to end mail-in voting, claiming it leads to widespread voter fraud.
Every state in the U.S. allows for some form of absentee or mail-in voting, but Washington is one of just a select few to conduct vote-by-mail elections, so what would this mean for future elections in the Evergreen State?
Keep reading to learn more about what Trump's executive order would mean for voting in Washington.
Will mail-in voting end in Washington?
The order is unlikely to pass without resistance in Washington state.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced he would litigate any such executive order, issuing the following statement to FOX 13 Seattle:
"This order follows the president’s public embrace of the Russian dictator’s advice on how to run elections. This is the same president who is still lying about his 2020 election loss. Thankfully, we don’t take advice from election deniers, whether they’re in the Kremlin or the White House. We’ve already sued over the president’s last executive order attempting to seize control of state elections. We will look at this order very closely and not be afraid to litigate any attacks we see coming against Washington’s voting system."
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs issued this statement:
"At this time, no executive order has been released, so it is not possible to know its actual scope or implications. What we do know is that under Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the authority to regulate federal elections rests with Congress and state legislatures. Washington’s vote-by-mail system has long been safe, secure, and accessible, and it continues to serve our voters well."
Dr. Patrick Schoettmer of Seattle University argues further that no president has any authority over the electoral systems of each state.
"The vote-by-mail does have concerns around it, but voter fraud is not one of them in particular. States that adopt vote-by-mail only in particular, like Washington, like Oregon, like California, have very robust checks," said Dr. Schoettmer during an interview on Good Day Seattle. "You know you have to sign it, and it's tested against historic signatures. You may have had your signature challenged in the past, so… They have lots of obstacles to prevent fraudulent voting, and all the evidence we have suggests that it's almost nonexistent."
Why does Trump want to end mail-in voting?
The backstory:
Trump addressed his executive order while addressing reporters Monday during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Quickly, Mail-In ballots are corrupt. Mail-In ballots. You can never have a real democracy with Mail-In ballots. And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of Mail-In ballots, Trump said. "We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end Mail-In ballots because they're corrupt and, do you know that we're the only country in the world?"
Big picture view:
For years, President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that he, not Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election and has pushed Republicans to overhaul the nation’s voting system.
According to a U.S. Election Assistance report, approximately 30.3% of ballots cast in the 2024 election were submitted by mail, which was lower than the record 43% of mail-in ballots turned in during the height of the pandemic in 2021.
On June 13, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to institute parts of his sweeping March 25 executive order in March to overhaul federal elections, which included requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and banning states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day, Reuters reported.
In 2022, then-Attorney General William Barr declared the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election. Barr told the AP that U.S. attorneys and FBI agents worked to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but "to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election."
Reuters noted that Trump also voted by mail in previous elections and encouraged his supporters to do the same in the 2024 election.
Local perspective:
Washington has implemented mail-in voting since at least 1983, and county officials argue that elections in Washington are among the most secure and viable in the country.
"The way we do it here in King County, which is the facility I'm most familiar with, all the machines that tabulate the votes are offline in a secured center and a facility designed by the same people who designed the safes in Las Vegas. So it is a secure facility as we can have," said Schoettmer. "Places like Washington that adopt vote-by-mail reform, they really care about getting people to show up to the vote. And so Washington has a long tradition of high voter turnout, and I think we would see that play out regardless of the voting mechanism we have."
How long has mail-in voting existed in Washington?
Timeline:
Before 1983: According to the Secretary of State's Office, the Washington State Legislature allowed for "permanent absentee" ballots for people with disabilities and anyone age 65 or older. Barring that, voters could write to request an absentee ballot each election.
1983: Special elections were allowed to be conducted by mail ballot.
1991: The permanent absentee voting law was expanded — anyone could join the absentee list by request, and once they did, they would receive a mail-in ballot for each election.
1993: Vote-by-mail was expanded to small voting precincts under 200 voters. By this year, some counties began splitting precincts to allow for more vote-by-mail elections.
2005: The Legislature authorized vote-by-mail statewide, allowing counties to choose.
2011: 38 of the state's 39 counties had switched to vote-by-mail.
What's next:
"Washington state's vote-by-mail system is convenient, safe and secure. We won't go backward," said Gov. Bob Ferguson.
AG Nick Brown is expected to file an injunction to block Trump's executive order ending mail-in voting, should such an order be signed.
MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Closures of Fred Meyer in Tacoma, WA impacting 200 employees, creates 'food desert'
Bike thieves caught on Tesla camera in Preston, WA
WA troopers make 2 arrests using plane to track down driver, motorcyclist
In-N-Out Burger opens in Ridgefield, WA this week
Police investigate deadly shooting at apartment in Federal Way, WA
This is the best community college in WA, report says
Reptile Zoo to close in Monroe after 30 years
Wild rabbits spotted with strange 'horn-like' growths sprouting from their heads
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
The Source: Information in this story comes from previous coverage on FOX 13 Seattle and LiveNOW on FOX, as well as information from the Washington Secretary of State's Office and the Attorney General's Office.