This story appeared in The Logoffa daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news rule your life. Register here.
Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump is still trying to block mail-in voting.
What happened? On Tuesday evening, Trump signed an executive order that will create new citizenship rolls to determine voting eligibility and limit who the US Postal Service can send ballots to.
Will this order go anywhere? Very likely, for several reasons. First, it is clearly unconstitutional: The Constitution gives states the power to determine the “Times, Places and Manner” of elections, without any responsibility for the executive branch.
There are also practical limitations. Like Kevin R Kosarsenior fellow at the American Institute of Commerce, it showsimplementation of the order in time for the 2026 midterms – if allowed to go ahead – would present significant logistical challenges.
What is the context? The ban on mail-in voting has been Trump’s white whale since losing the 2020 election, which he has blamed on mail-in ballots. More recently, he’s tried to make it legal: The SAVE America Act, currently stalled in the Senate (and unlikely to stall), would not only limit mail-in voting, but would impose new voter ID requirements.
Despite Trump’s attacks, there is there is no evidence that voting by mail is associated with significant voter fraud.
Didn’t Trump vote by mail himself? Yes. The records show Trump, who has attacked mail-in voting as a “fraud,” voted by mail in Florida’s recent special election, despite being in Palm Beach at the time.
what is the main picture? As Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles, said in a blog postThe order is so complex that it’s more of an “election denial forum” than anything else — designed to paint American elections, without any basis, as unsafe and in need of reform.
That kind of theater has no real-world dangers. This particular order is unlikely to throw the US election into chaos – but it is another entry in Trump’s long-running campaign to undermine Americans’ faith in the democratic process.
And so, it’s time to leave…
It’s moon mission day! You can read my colleague Caitlin Dewey on the new space race hereand perform viewing YouTube, C-SPANand many other places. The two-hour launch window opens at 6:24 pm Eastern.
while you wait, here is the giveaway link explaining why the Artemis II spacesuit is not white but a specific shade called International Orange (I’m a fan myself).
Thanks for reading, have a good evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
