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In a surprising turn, President Trump, who has consistently criticized mail-in voting, referring to it as “mail-in cheating,” has himself voted by mail in advance of a Florida special election scheduled for Tuesday.
According to records from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, the president submitted his mail-in ballot earlier this month from his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach County. The period for early in-person voting wrapped up on Sunday.
This election will decide between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples, both competing to fill the state House seat previously held by Republican Mike Caruso. Trump narrowly secured a victory in this district during the 2024 elections.
Trump’s disapproval of mail-in voting dates back to his initial presidential campaign in 2016. His criticisms intensified during the 2020 election cycle, as many Americans opted for mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has attributed part of his loss in that election to what he alleged were issues with mail-in voting, which he frequently labeled as “rigged.”
During a speech in Memphis on Monday, as reported by The Washington Post, Trump stated, “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating, and we’ve got to do something about it all.”
White House spokesperson Olivia Whales told The Hill in a statement that it was a “non-story” because “everyone knows” that Trump participates in Florida elections while dividing his time between Palm Beach and Washington, D.C.
Trump intends to change how Americans vote through the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, his top legislative priority. The bill would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote and a valid ID so they can cast their ballot.
“As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military or travel –– but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” Whales said in her statement.
Trump tapped into his claims that undocumented immigrants vote for Democrats in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. He wrote that Democrats “want them to VOTE! That’s why they are fighting so hard to neutralize ICE. We will fight them all the way, and WIN!”
Trump and other Republican lawmakers have claimed that Democrats win elections with massive support from undocumented immigrants. Little evidence exists that suggest migrants, required to undergo a years-long process to first obtain their citizenship before they can register to vote, cast ballots in U.S. elections.
The Senate’s marathon debate on the bill entered its second week on Sunday. It is not expected to survive without Democratic support.
Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), compared the bill to legal segregation and have called it “Jim Crow 2.0.“