The president has long criticized mail-in voting, calling it a source of widespread fraud.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said an executive order is being drafted to strengthen U.S. elections and curb mail-in ballot fraud, after President Donald Trump alleged that California’s mail voting system “is rigged” and parts of it are under “legal and criminal review.”
“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California with their universal mail-in voting system,” Leavitt told reporters during a Nov. 4 briefing. “It’s absolutely true that … there is fraud in California’s elections. It’s just a fact.”
Leavitt’s comments followed a Truth Social post by Trump earlier in the day, in which he renewed his criticism of mail-in voting and suggested criminal investigations were underway.
“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED,” Trump wrote. “All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review.”
When asked what evidence the White House had to support those claims and which authorities were conducting the purported reviews, Leavitt said she would provide evidence of fraud to reporters after the briefing, alleging that “fraudulent ballots are being mailed in the names of other people, in the names of illegal aliens who shouldn’t be voting in American elections.”
The White House has not disclosed details of the upcoming executive order. The president has repeatedly promised sweeping changes to election procedures, including a nationwide ban on universal mail-in voting and electronic voting machines.
Redistricting Vote Sparks Clash
On Nov. 4, California voters approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure championed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats that allows lawmakers to temporarily bypass the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission to redraw congressional maps.
Supporters said the measure was a needed counterweight to Republican-led redistricting in states such as Texas, while critics—including Trump—characterized it as an unconstitutional power grab.
Newsom described the referendum as “California’s chance to save democracy,” saying it would help Democrats regain momentum ahead of next year’s elections.
By Tom Ozimek
