VOTER RIGHTS FACT SHEET: They Call It "CHEATING" Then Do It Themselves

The facts about mail-in voting, who's really undermining elections, and why it matters for every voter in America.

"We're the only country that does mail-in voting. Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating." — DONALD TRUMP, MEMPHIS CRIME ROUNDTABLE, MARCH 23, 2026

⚠ FALSE — FACT-CHECKED BY CNN, PBS, NBC, AND INTERNATIONAL IDEA

⚡ Breaking Hypocrisy

†RUMP VOTED BY MAIL, The same week he called it "CHEATING"

Public records from Palm Beach County confirm that †rump cast a mail-in ballot in a Florida special election — the very same week he stood at a podium in Memphis calling mail-in voting "cheating." He also voted by mail in the primary for that same race in January.

This is not the first time. †rump voted by mail in 2020 as well, while simultaneously telling the American public that mail-in voting was rife with fraud. When asked to explain the contradiction, he claimed his situation was different but offered no legal or factual basis for that distinction.

The rules he wants to ban for you are the rules he uses for himself.

SOURCES: CNN, NBC NEWS, ABC NEWS — MARCH 24, 2026

THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE

34 COUNTRIES & TERRITORIES ALLOW MAIL-IN VOTING

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a nonpartisan global democracy watchdog, found 34 countries and territories allow mail-in voting. The U.S. is far from alone, despite †rump's repeated false claims.

12: ALLOW ALL CITIZENS TO VOTE BY MAIL

Canada, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, and others allow every citizen to vote by mail with no restrictions whatsoever.

150+: YEARS OF USE IN THE U.S.

Americans have voted by mail since the Civil War — created so soldiers fighting for their country would not lose their right to vote.

~12: FRAUD CASES IN OREGON

In nearly two decades of all-mail elections with over 100 million ballots cast, Oregon found roughly a dozen fraud cases. Fraud is vanishingly rare.

60+: COURT CASES REJECTING FRAUD CLAIMS

After the 2020 election, courts, including those with †rump-appointed judges, rejected fraud claims more than 60 times. No evidence of widespread fraud was ever found.

NOW THEY'RE SEIZING BALLOTS

⚠ HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, A DANGEROUS NEW PATTERN

When Republicans Lose, They Take the Ballots

650K BALLOTS SEIZED IN CALIFORNIA — MARCH 2026

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican running for governor, seized over 650,000 ballots from election officials. The election in question approved a Democratic redistricting map that could give Democrats up to five House seats in the midterms. California's Attorney General called the seizure "unprecedented" and said it was designed to "sow distrust in elections." Election officials and the state said the fraud claims "lack credible evidence."

FBI FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA — JANUARY 2026

†rump deployed FBI agents to raid the Fulton County elections office, the county that includes Atlanta, walking away with what local sources described as "pallets of ballots." No credible basis for the raid was provided. Legal experts warned it set a dangerous precedent.

DNI PUERTO RICO VOTING MACHINES SEIZED

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence seized Puerto Rico's voting machines, connected to investigations tied to †rump's 2020 loss. Puerto Rican officials objected, calling it an overreach with no legal justification.

A Coordinated Playbook to Steal Power

STEP 1: SPREAD THE LIE

Claim mail-in voting is fraudulent — despite zero evidence — to prime the public to distrust election results before they happen.

STEP 2: PASS RESTRICTIVE LAWS

Since 2024, at least 19 states have passed new mail voting restrictions, making it harder for elderly, disabled, rural, and working-class Americans to vote — the exact groups who rely on mail ballots most.

STEP 3: WHEN YOU LOSE, SEIZE THE EVIDENCE

Use law enforcement — local sheriffs, the FBI, federal intelligence agencies — to physically take possession of ballots from elections Republicans lost, under the cover of "fraud investigations" with no credible basis.

STEP 4: USE IT YOURSELF

While publicly condemning mail-in voting as "cheating," †rump has voted by mail multiple times — in 2020, January 2026, and again in March 2026. One standard for them with another for everyone else.

STEP 5: WHAT'S COMING NEXT Steve Bannon has said openly that IÇE at airports is a "test run" for the 2026 elections. If they're willing to seize 700 boxes of certified ballots from Georgia, raid a California county, and deploy federal intelligence agents to oversee it all. What happens when IÇE shows up at your polling place in November?

Countries Where ALL Citizens Can Vote by Mail

Not Just the U.S.

NATIONS WITH UNIVERSAL MAIL-IN VOTING — SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL IDEA, 2024

🇨🇦 Canada

🇩🇪 Germany

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🇰🇷 South Korea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇨🇭 Switzerland

🇦🇺 Australia

🇮🇸 Iceland

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

🇬🇷 Greece

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

🇵🇱 Poland

Who They're Targeting

SENIOR CITIZENS Older Americans rely on mail-in voting at far higher rates than younger voters. Many are unable to travel to polling places. Eliminating mail-in voting disproportionately silences the elderly.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

For millions of Americans with physical disabilities or chronic illness, mail-in voting is not a convenience. It is the only viable way to participate in democracy.

RURAL VOTERS

In rural areas, polling places can be dozens of miles away. Mail-in ballots ensure that geography doesn't determine whether your vote counts.

WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS

Hourly workers, parents, and people without paid time off often cannot take Election Day off to vote in person. Mail-in voting gives everyone, not just the privileged, equal access to the ballot.

MILITARY FAMILIES

U.S. service members stationed abroad depend on mail-in ballots. †rump's regime acknowledged this by carving out a "military exception," while trying to deny the same right to civilian Americans.

Know Your Rights. Protect Your Vote. Make Noise.

Mail-in voting is legal, secure, and used across the democratic world. They're lying to suppress your vote. Check your state's current rules, request your ballot early, share this, and fight back.

VOTE.GOV

ABSENTEE RULES BY STATE

ACLU VOTING RIGHTS

COMMON CAUSE

Sources Trump Mail Ballot (March 24, 2026)

• CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/24/politics/trump-votes-by-mail-in-ballot-in-florida-special-election-as-he-tries-to-sharply-limit-absentee-voting

• NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-casts-mail-ballot-florida-calls-method-cheating-rcna264762

• ABC News: https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-voted-mail-florida-special-election-despite-rhetoric/story?id=131354293

Riverside Ballot Seizure (March 22–24, 2026)

• NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/california-gop-sheriff-running-governor-seizes-ballots-2025-election-rcna264710

• AP (via KPBS): https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2026/03/23/california-sheriff-running-for-governor-seizes-more-than-a-half-million-ballots-from-2025-election

• UPI (includes AG Bonta statement): https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/03/23/california-sheriff-seizes-ballots/7511774287714/

Pattern of Seizures

• MSNBC/Rachel Maddow Blog: https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-its-so-unsettling-to-see-a-republican-sheriff-seizing-ballots-in-california

Mail Voting Fraud Data / Global Context

• PBS NewsHour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-trumps-claim-the-u-s-is-the-only-country-that-uses-mail-in-voting

• Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-countries-mail-ballots-trump-vows-ban-voting-format-2115167

• Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/30/from-voter-registration-to-mail-in-ballots-how-do-countries-around-the-world-run-their-elections/

• Common Cause: https://www.commoncause.org/articles/mail-in-voting-myths-vs-facts/

• International IDEA: https://www.idea.int/news/how-us-stacks-against-global-voting-mail-trends