President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will lead a “movement” to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines, arguing without evidence that they contribute to voter fraud.

“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

He added that he plans to begin by signing an executive order before the 2026 midterm elections, though such an order would likely face legal challenges.

“Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do,” Trump said.

Under the Constitution, state legislatures control the “times, places and manner” of elections, subject to laws passed by Congress.

Trump has long cast doubt on mail-in voting, often against the views of other Republicans. He has said it contributed to his 2020 election loss, though investigations have found no widespread fraud.

Mail-in voting is now widely used, and studies show fraud in the process is rare. Safeguards such as signature checks and barcodes on envelopes are in place to reduce risks.

Trump’s post followed his comments on Fox News, where he said he had discussed U.S. mail-in voting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. At the meeting, Putin reportedly said Russia’s war in Ukraine would not have happened if Trump were still president.

“Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest election with mail-in voting,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. He also claimed Putin “said there’s not a country in the world that uses it now,” though Russia itself allows mail-in voting.

Putin’s own 2024 re-election, widely criticised by Western governments as neither free nor fair, was described by the U.S. State Department as taking place “in an environment of intense political repression that has marginalized or completely silenced all independent voices.”

Fiona Hill, Trump’s former top adviser, also commented on the issue in an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation. Hill, who was present in 2018 when Trump publicly sided with Putin’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 election, said: “Well, look, this is Vladimir Putin, as usual, trying to manipulate U.S. domestic politics.” She added that Putin “wants to sow chaos in the American electoral system ahead of the midterms.” (Nigerian Tribune)