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President Donald Trump spent years warning Republicans that voting by mail was vulnerable to fraud and calling the practice “inherently corrupt.”
Now, with Republicans facing a difficult political environment ahead of the November midterm elections, Trump is telling his supporters to use it.
In a video posted over the weekend, Trump urged Republican voters to cast ballots however their states allow — including by mail — as he pushes to maximize turnout before Election Day on Nov. 3.
“If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote. Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day,” Trump said.
The message represents a striking shift for a president who has repeatedly attacked mail voting and spent much of his second term pursuing restrictions on how states administer it.
Trump has also voted by mail himself, including in the 2024 election, while continuing to criticize the practice publicly.
The reversal comes as Republicans confront a challenging polling environment. An Emerson College national poll conducted Sept. 21-22 found Democrats leading Republicans 53% to 42% on the generic congressional ballot, an 11-point advantage. The survey also found Democrats more enthusiastic about voting, with 78% saying they were very excited compared with 66% of Republicans.
Trump’s message changes as turnout becomes the priority
Trump’s latest appeal makes the political calculation more explicit: Republican voters who might otherwise wait until Election Day are being encouraged to lock in their ballots earlier.
Political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston said campaigns have an incentive to bank votes as early as possible because voters who have already cast ballots cannot be lost to scheduling problems, illness or other last-minute obstacles.
“The overriding concern for the White House is turnout, not consistency,” Rottinghaus said.
Trump has simultaneously stepped up his campaign appearances in Republican-leaning states. He traveled to Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday to campaign alongside Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is facing independent candidate Dan Osborn. The Nebraska stop is part of a 32-day campaign tour ahead of the midterms.
The White House has also promoted voter registration through government communications, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a one-day military-wide stand-down in October to give service members time to register or vote.
Republicans are fighting to protect their congressional majorities
The stakes for Trump extend beyond individual races.
Republicans currently control Congress, and losing either chamber would give Democrats greater power to investigate the administration during the final two years of Trump’s term.
The Emerson poll found Trump with a 39% approval rating and 58% disapproval among likely voters, while the economy, jobs, tariffs and the war with Iran ranked among voters’ most important issues.
Recent polling in individual Senate races has also shown Democrats competitive in traditionally Republican states, adding to the pressure on Trump and Republican candidates to maximize turnout.
The president’s campaign schedule reflects that concern. Trump has increasingly focused on Republican strongholds where his appearances are intended to energize the party’s base and assist candidates running down the ballot.
Trump’s mail-voting restrictions ran into the courts
Trump’s current message is especially notable because his administration spent months trying to impose new restrictions on mail voting.
In March, Trump issued an executive order directing the Postal Service to require states to provide information about their mail-ballot procedures and voter lists. The administration argued the changes were intended to address election integrity concerns.
States and voting-rights groups challenged the policy, arguing that the federal government was attempting to intrude on powers the Constitution assigns to the states.
The Supreme Court ultimately blocked the Postal Service from enforcing the new requirements before the midterms. The justices left the lower-court injunction in place, preventing implementation of the rule that would have allowed USPS to reject ballots that did not meet the administration’s requirements.
The ruling came as election officials warned that changing mail-ballot procedures shortly before a federal election could disrupt the process.
Trump criticized the court’s decision at the time and continued to claim that mail voting created opportunities for cheating.
The fraud claims remain disputed
Trump has repeatedly portrayed mail voting as a major source of election fraud, particularly since the 2020 presidential election.
But election officials have long emphasized that mail ballots are subject to verification procedures that vary by state.
According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, mail ballots accounted for about 30% of all ballots cast in the 2024 election. The agency said mail ballots are governed by state laws and verified by election officials before they are counted.
A slow vote count also does not by itself demonstrate fraud. States can continue receiving and processing ballots after Election Day when their laws permit them to count ballots that were properly postmarked or otherwise meet legal requirements.
The EAC notes that states have different rules governing who may vote by mail and when ballots must be returned.
A familiar Trump reversal
Trump’s latest position is not his first departure from his previous rhetoric on mail voting.
He encouraged supporters to use mail ballots during the 2024 election while continuing to criticize the system. He has also personally voted by mail.
The difference now is the urgency of the message.
With the midterms only weeks away and Republicans facing a competitive political landscape, Trump is emphasizing that the method matters less than getting his supporters to cast ballots.
That puts his latest message at odds with years of Republican rhetoric portraying mail voting as inherently suspect.
The League of Women Voters has argued that Trump’s shift in rhetoric does not erase his administration’s earlier efforts to change the rules.
“The President does not have the authority to unilaterally dictate how states administer elections,” League President and CEO Celina Stewart said in a statement.
The administration’s actions, she said, should be judged separately from its latest statements.
For Republicans, however, the immediate goal is straightforward: get voters to the polls — or get their ballots in the mail — before Nov. 3.
And after years of warning that mail voting could undermine elections, Trump is now telling his own voters to use it.
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