The Republican National Committee says it won't defy President Donald Trump on mail-in balloting, following a Politico report that said otherwise.
"The RNC's mission is to protect the vote and turn out the vote by strengthening voter confidence," GOP press secretary Kiersten Pels told the Daily Caller.
"Our election integrity work has boosted Republican participation by addressing concerns about security, and this cycle we're again ensuring every ballot is secure and properly counted."
Politico earlier this week said Republicans in three swing states were pushing mail-in voting despite Trump openly trashing the method.
"We have to encourage people to embrace mail-in voting and early voting," Pennsylvania GOP Chair Greg Rothman told the news outlet in an interview. "That has to be a priority for us in 2026."
Jim Runestad, a state senator who chairs the Michigan Republican Party, said, "We'll be fully engaged in early and absentee voting — we have to be."
"In Michigan, that's the law of the land unless we can find a U.S. constitutional override, which I doubt that's going to happen," he told Politico.
A source familiar with the GOP's strategy told the Caller they would encourage voters to use any method available to vote but rejected the idea that they were "leaning-in" to mail-in ballots.
Trump has called mail-in ballots "corrupt" and part of a "hoax" and claims the process leads to massive fraud.
He has talked about leading a movement to eliminate mail-in voting and signing an executive order to end mail-in ballots and even certain voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Across the U.S., many states are proposing or passing laws that tighten rules around mail-in voting or ballot access; however, very few are outright banning it, and changes often appear as part of broader voting restrictions.
In 2025 alone, dozens of states considered hundreds of bills that would restrict aspects of mail voting, and some laws have already passed in about 10 states that limit mail-in voting procedures.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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