March 24, 2026 10:36 AM UTC

It's Okay if You're Trump (Mail Ballot Edition)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Any immediate hopes of ending the 38-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — and giving travelers relief from long TSA lines at the airport — went out the window on Monday with President Trump’s reiteration of a demand about the so-called “SAVE Act.”

As CBS News reports:

Senate talks aimed at ending the 38-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security hit a new roadblock on Monday after President Trump called on Republicans to hold out for passage of an elections bill that Democrats strongly oppose — though some key senators suggested Monday a deal to fund parts of DHS is still possible.

“I’m suggesting strongly to the Republican Party, don’t make any deal on anything,” Mr. Trump said. “The most important thing we can have is called the SAVE America Act.”

The SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot, has already been a headache for Senate Republicans. The chamber has been debating the measure for nearly a week in an attempt to placate conservatives who have demanded that the Senate maneuver around a 60-vote threshold to pass the bill. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been clear that the votes aren’t there.

The “SAVE Act,” which has a big cheerleader in Trump toadie Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Ft. Lupton), would also all but end the practice of mail balloting in federal elections. Coloradans have enjoyed voting by mail since 2014, but Trump regularly insists that the process is rife with fraud (despite providing absolutely no evidence in support of his claims).

It might surprise you (okay, probably not) to learn that Trump himself is one of the 1-in-3 Americans who regularly vote by mail. In fact, TRUMP VOTED BY MAIL THIS WEEK.

As The Washington Post reports:

President Donald Trump, who is in the midst of pressuring senators to curb the use of mail-in voting, voted by mail ballot in Tuesday’s special election in Palm Beach County, Florida. [Pols emphasis]

The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website indicates that Trump, who is registered to vote at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach, “voted by Mail Ballot” in a special election between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples for a seat in the state legislature. A spokesperson for the office confirmed to The Washington Post that the “information [on the site] is accurate.”

Trump’s decision to vote by mail comes as he pushes the Save America Act — a sweeping bill to reform nationwide balloting, including restrictions on mail-in voting — and derides vote-by-mail at events.

Bruh.

“Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating,” Trump said Monday during a law enforcement task force meeting in Memphis. “I call it mail-in cheating, and we’ve got to do something about it all.”

Trump did not have to vote by mail. He was in Palm Beach over the weekend, and early in-person voting was available through Sunday.

And how does the White House square this obvious hypocrisy? With the same canned “fake news” response they use whenever they can’t explain something:

Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, said Monday that Trump using a mail ballot in the special election was “a non-story” because it’s common knowledge that Trump votes in Florida but lives in Washington, D.C.

“As President Trump has said, the Save America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military or travel — but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” Wales added.

This is not the first time Trump has voted by mail while deriding the practice. “I can vote by mail,” he told reporters in 2020 when pushed on how he reconciles his use of a practice he criticizes. “I’m allowed to.”

As we’ve written before in this space, Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting are really about laying the groundwork to claim election fraud in November when Democrats are forecasted to take control of the House of Representatives. As a result of Trump’s threats, Colorado lawmakers have taken preemptive steps to ensure that there is plenty of time for mail ballots to be delivered this year.

If you haven’t yet figured this out, this is one more reminder that Trump doesn’t actually believe in anything he says.