States have the right to choose their election method, Utah LG says amid Trump threat to end vote-by-mail

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — President Donald Trump said he will lead a “movement” to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines nationwide, but in a post to X Monday, Utah’s chief election officer appeared to disagree with that plan, arguing that states’ election methods are up to them.

“The constitutional right of individual states to choose the manner in which they conduct elections is a fundamental strength of our system,” wrote Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson in a brief statement on X after President Trump’s comments.

Utahns have been voting by mail since 2014, and polling has found that it’s wildly popular and that most voters in the Beehive State trust it.

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“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote in his social media post.

“Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do,” Trump wrote.

During a press event with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House later Monday, Trump said that the Republican Party was “going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots.”

“We’re going to start with an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they’re corrupt,” Trump said.

Utah has made some attempts to get rid of voting by mail in the past, but it’s never had enough support because Utahns largely like it.

Earlier this year, Utah did, however, make some major changes to its vote-by-mail processes and by-mail ballot deadlines, which include:

• Requiring voters to place the last 4 digits of their driver’s license, state ID, or social security number on their ballot return envelopes

• Mandates that clerks will begin phasing out signature verification by 2029

• Those who cannot provide these identifications to vote in person, with exceptions

• Ballots must arrive at the clerk’s office no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted

• Requiring voters to opt in for mail-in ballots when they register to vote to receive one

• Voters will stop receiving a mail-in ballot by default in 2029

Critics of that bill, including county clerks who largely opposed the changes, argued that the new rules would disenfranchise voters.

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