United States President Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of mail-in voting, claiming it was rigged in the 2020 elections and pledging to abolish the postal voting system. “We are now the only country in the world that uses mail-in voting,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
However, this claim has been disputed by evidence. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, at least 34 countries or territories allow postal voting.
Trump’s assertion that mail-in voting is a uniquely American problem is inaccurate. Countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom all incorporate mail-in voting into their electoral processes.
In fact, Australia has been using postal voting for over a century. “Europe has the largest number of countries that make in-country postal voting available to all or some voters,” according to a report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
While mail-in voting is used in many countries, the systems differ significantly.
Annika Silva-Leander, head of the North America department at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, notes that no two countries have exactly the same postal voting system.
Some key differences include ballot tracking, state systems, and ballot curing. Unlike many countries, the US has a decentralized system where each state sets its own mail-in voting laws.
In Canada, all citizens are eligible to use mail-in voting, which has been a vital component of the democratic process since 1993.
“Voting by mail has long been a vital component of the democratic process in Canada,” said York University Associate Professor Cary Wu.
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, on-demand postal voting was introduced in the early 2000s to increase voter turnout.
Trump has announced plans to issue an executive order aimed at abolishing mail-in voting, citing concerns about election integrity.
However, his proposal faces significant challenges, as the US Constitution vests the power to regulate elections with the states.
Election law Professor Rick Hasen at the University of California at Los Angeles described Trump’s claim that states are mere agents of the federal government in counting votes as “wrong and dangerous”. “The Constitution does not give the President any control over federal elections,” Hasen wrote.
The White House has not provided evidence to support Trump’s claims about mail-in voting, and experts argue that such a move would undermine the democratic process.
Despite Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting, he has occasionally cast a mail-in ballot himself and invited Republicans to do so in 2024.