Trump Moves to Ban Mail-In Ballots and Occupy Cities

President Donald Trump announced a movement to ban mail-in ballots and voting machines that lack paper trails, claiming the federal government can order states to eliminate these methods to prevent voter fraud. Following a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Trump asserted that Putin assured him the 2020 U.S. election was rigged. Trump argued that states act as mere agents for the federal government in tabulating votes and must follow presidential orders, a claim legal analysts say contradicts the U.S. Constitution.

Trump stated that ending mail-in voting is a strategic move to prevent Democrats from being elected, viewing it as more impactful than redistricting for the 2026 midterms. To further influence the next election cycle, he directed the United States Department of Justice to create a federal voter information database and pressured Texas Republicans to conduct mid-decade redistricting.

Simultaneously, Trump initiated a military takeover of the District of Columbia and an occupation of Los Angeles, while coordinating with Republican governors to deploy National Guard troops to other major cities. Critics suggest these deployments could be used to militarize voting areas.

In related legal developments, Newsmax agreed to pay settlements to Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic to resolve defamation lawsuits regarding false claims of rigged voting machines. Fox News also paid a settlement to Dominion Voting Systems.