Mail-in voting: officials defend election methodSubscriber Exclusive

President Donald Trump is threatening to end mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” the president posted on his Truth Social account Monday. Washington is among eight states — including California and Oregon — as well as the District of Columbia that have universal mail-in elections with every registered voter receiving a mail-in ballot by default, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan digital political encyclopedia. Washington has allowed some form of mail-in voting since the early 1980s and implemented a statewide vote-by-mail system in 2011. “Vote-by-mail is the consistently most safe and trackable method of voting,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a Monday statement responding to Trump’s missive. According to the Washington Secretary of State’s office, voting by mail leads to higher voter turnout; requires fewer poll workers and poll sites; provides an auditable paper trail; and gives voters, who receive ballots at least 18 days ahead of each election, “ample time” to research the issues and cast a vote. The president’s vow to “get rid of mail-in ballots,” is not the first time this year that politicians have threatened to end Washington’s statewide vote-by-mail system. In January, 15 Republican state legislators — including 17th District Rep. Kevin Waters, R-Stevenson — sponsored House Bill 1584, calling for an end of mail-in voting for nonabsentee voters and a return to in-person voting at polling places. The Republican legislators claimed in the bill that “trust in the electoral system across the United States has declined due to credible allegations of voter fraud, ballot tampering and foreign interference in elections.” The legislators, who did not provide any proof to back up their fraud claims, called on Washington legislators to “ensure ballot security and restore trust in electoral outcomes by reimplementing in-person voting in Washington, while continuing to provide ballot access to those who most need it by allowing for limited absentee voting.” House Bill 1584 did not make it out of the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee during the Legislature’s 2025-26 session. ‘Gold standard’ During an interview with The Columbian’s editorial board Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, discussed election security and praised the use of paper ballots — including those used in in-person as well as mail-in voting systems. “I really believe in paper ballots. They are the gold standard in election security,” Perez told The Columbian’s editorial board. The congresswoman said she was concerned about an executive order President Trump signed in March that could prohibit election officials from accepting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. In Washington, mail-in ballots come with prepaid postage and voters have become accustomed to having their ballot counted as long as it’s postmarked by Election Day. In April, Perez was one of four Democratic congressional representatives who voted for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, to guarantee noncitizens are not voting in U.S. elections. Perez said last week that, although “it is technically accurate that noncitizen voting has not influenced the outcome of elections,” she believes it is important to quell American’s fears about election security. In January, the congresswoman introduced bipartisan election reform legislation aimed at ensuring noncitizens cannot vote in U.S. elections and that U.S. citizens’ right to vote cannot be denied due to political party affiliation or unaffiliated status. “We have a really strong system, but it’s also important that we don’t have fear about who is voting in these elections,” she told the editorial board. Kelly Moyer: 360-735-4674; kelly.moyer@columbian.com

Related Stories