PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa Bay area Supervisors of Elections offices are reacting this week to President Donald Trump’s social media posts outlining his plans to ban mail-in voting before the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump said work is being done to draft an executive order banning states from allowing mail-in voting.
But many are raising legal questions about the move, saying the federal government can’t tell states how to conduct elections.
Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley says his office is already getting calls from concerned voters.
“I had someone call me yesterday and said, ‘I am a disabled voter, if this goes through, how am I going to vote?’” said Corley. “I explained to that person that it’s an executive order, it’s not legislative, it’s unconstitutional. I said the Florida legislature could, in theory, adopt what the president wants to do in his public comments. I said we vehemently oppose it. I don’t think that would happen. I think Gov. DeSantis’ comments echo that as well.”
DeSantis this week called Florida’s mail-in voting system the “gold standard” and claimed Trump wasn’t talking about Florida’s mail-in voting system, but rather other states that send blanket mail-in votes to people unsolicited.
During the general election last year, more than three million Floridians cast a ballot by mail, including more than one million Republican voters.
Jason Lanning
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