CLIFF MALONEY: Ending Mail-In Ballots Necessary To Restore Trust In Our Elections

Last year, I had the honor of leading the Pennsylvania Chase effort to help Donald Trump secure votes in the nation’s largest swing state.

That effort proved to be wildly successful, following the rules as they exist today, but now, as we move toward the next critical election cycle, I am joining President Trump in calling for something far more important—an end to mail-in voting.

I won’t be subtle here. I despise mail-in ballots.

They have become a clunky, delay-ridden mess that only erodes trust in the outcome of our elections. President Trump has outlined a plan to restore single-day, in-person voting with watermarked paper ballots. That plan is exactly what we need to rebuild faith in our electoral system.

The President’s Executive Order, set to arrive before the midterms, will put an end to mail-in ballots and lock down insecure electronic voting machines. In their place, we will have verified paper ballots and voter ID. Democrats are already crying foul, but their protests are nothing new. As I have said before, their gripes are Déjà Blue — defending a system that doesn’t work and fuels public skepticism.

The truth is simple: mail-in ballots open the door to errors, delays, and confusion. Reports of lost military votes and mishandled processing are widespread. Electronic machines have been plagued with glitches, sometimes flipping voters’ selections right on the screen. Those so-called “water pipe breaks” and covered polling station windows we saw in 2020 did nothing but deepen distrust in the process.

That is why single-day, in-person voting with paper ballots, counted the same night, is the best solution.

This isn’t just my opinion. The Heritage Foundation’s election integrity data proves it: mail-in systems and electronic machines create vulnerabilities that shake confidence — lost ballots, slow counts, and frequent errors. By contrast, watermarked paper ballots, in-person voting, and same-day counts are secure, verifiable, and efficient. Before the pandemic, this was the standard. It worked, and Americans trusted it.

Even polling shows that Americans are demanding this kind of reform. Rasmussen’s 2025 survey found that 73% of Americans support voter ID. That’s not a fringe view. It’s a majority of the country. Voters want to believe their ballot matters, and they know that strong safeguards are necessary.

Since the announcement of President Trump’s plan, I have received thousands of emails, texts, and calls. Voters across Pennsylvania are excited, but I also hear their concern. They love the Executive Order but worry that it might eliminate the PA Chase effort.

The PA Chase isn’t going anywhere. For years, we’ve relied on grassroots campaigning — door knocking, voter education, and neighbor-to-neighbor advocacy. In 2024, because of the mail-in system, we adjusted and chased ballots by the rules as they stood, and we did it effectively.

Until the rules change, we will continue to chase ballots here in Pennsylvania.

When I was growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs, voting was straightforward. We had one day of voting, and we knew the results that same night. But since the pandemic, Democrats have stretched that into 50 days of voting. We had no choice but to adapt to those rules, and that meant chasing ballots. Republicans must compete under the rules given. Period.

If this Executive Order is implemented, we will shift back. We will return to what we do best — knocking on doors, informing citizens, and mobilizing voters to show up on Election Day. That is the heartbeat of our republic, and that is what patriots do: we follow the rules as they are written.

We cannot underestimate the challenge ahead. Liberal judges across the country have fought President Trump’s decisions at every turn, and they will try to block this one too. The battle is only beginning. But let me be clear—Trump was elected, with the support of 77 million Americans, on a promise to restore election integrity. I am confident he will not back down.

But Pennsylvanians should prepare for a fight. Gov. Josh Shapiro is as radical as they come, and he will fight tooth and nail to preserve the loose rules that benefit him. He is already planning for his 2026 reelection campaign and setting the stage for a 2028 presidential run. Do not expect him to surrender an inch without resistance.

Every American deserves to know that their vote counts. Every citizen should walk away from Election Day confident that the process was fair, secure, and accurate. Mail-in ballots and electronic machines have undermined that confidence for too long.

President Trump’s plan to restore single-day, in-person voting with watermarked paper ballots is not a partisan issue — it is a matter of survival for our republic.

The fight for fair elections is not just about this cycle or the next. It is about ensuring that every election in the future reflects the will of the people, counted honestly and transparently.

Cliff Maloney is the CEO of Citizens Alliance and the Founder of the PA CHASE. He can be found @Maloney on X.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation.

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