President Donald Trump says he plans to end mail-in and electronic voting through a new executive order, but an Indiana political scientist says the president does not have the authority to make that change.
IU South Bend professor of political science Elizabeth Bennion says the Constitution gives states, not the president, the power to run their own elections.
“So the president cannot actually abolish vote-by-mail or absentee-by-mail balloting with the stroke of a pen,” Bennion said. Bennion says decades of research show mail-in ballots are secure and used by voters in both parties. She says the rules differ across the region.
“Whether or not all people have the right to use a mail-in ballot as they do in Michigan or whether you need an excuse as you do in Indiana is based on state law,” she said. Bennion says eliminating mail-in voting would especially hurt voters with disabilities, seniors, active-duty service members, veterans and rural residents who rely on absentee options.
Bennion says residents who want to keep their options for mail-in ballots and electronic voting should reach out to their state representatives and to Governor Mike Braun.
