Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Says Trump’s Mail-In Voting Ban Plans Have No Bearing

President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order to end mail-in voting, claiming it is corrupt and susceptible to fraud, despite evidence to the contrary and his own history of voting by mail. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro strongly rejected the president's vow, stating that such an executive order would have no bearing on Pennsylvania elections and is unconstitutional, as the Constitution grants states the authority to regulate election rules, a power that cannot be overridden by the president. Shapiro emphasized that Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting system, enacted in 2019, is safe, secure, and led by bipartisan election officials, and courts have found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Nonpartisan groups like the Committee of Seventy criticized Trump's comments as attempts to sow doubt about election integrity ahead of the 2026 midterms. The federal government's recent efforts to obtain election information from states have coincided with these political tensions, but legal experts agree that only Congress can alter the rules governing elections at a national level. Despite Trump's repeated claims, Pennsylvania saw significant use of mail-in voting by both parties, which contributed to electoral outcomes in 2020 and 2024, and his attempts to ban mail ballots face constitutional and practical obstacles.