President Donald Trump announced that he plans to issue an executive order requiring voter identification for every ballot cast, saying there will be “no exceptions.”
“Voter I.D. must be part of every single vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I will be doing an executive order to that end!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The move comes as Trump and Republican allies continue to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections, despite a lack of evidence to support claims of widespread fraud.
Key points from Trump’s announcement
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Voter ID mandate: Trump says every voter will be required to present identification.
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Mail-in voting restricted: Only the seriously ill and deployed military personnel would qualify.
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End to voting machines: Trump has renewed calls to replace electronic systems with paper ballots and hand counts, a process experts warn is slower, costlier, and less accurate.
Constitutional questions
U.S. federal elections are administered by the states, raising doubts about whether Trump has the constitutional authority to enforce such nationwide rules via executive order. Legal experts say any directive would almost certainly face immediate court challenges.
The Nov. 3, 2026 midterms will be the first major electoral test since Trump returned to office in January. Democrats hope to flip control of Congress to block his domestic agenda, while Republicans aim to expand their majority.
Trump’s latest push adds to a broader campaign of electoral reforms, following his August pledge to ban mail-in ballots and electronic machines ahead of the midterms.
