The Republican National Committee told the Daily Caller that it isn’t planning on leaning into mail-in voting, despite reports that the party might be breaking with President Donald Trump to do so.
The GOP plans to push mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterms, Politico reported Wednesday. Since the 2020 election, Trump has often lamented the voting method and dissuaded his voters from casting their votes by mail. The RNC told the Caller that they aren’t breaking with Trump on the issue. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: RNC Responds To 28 Bomb Threats, Nearly 500 Tips Of Suspicious Election Activity)
“The RNC’s mission is to protect the vote and turn out the vote by strengthening voter confidence. Our election integrity work has boosted Republican participation by addressing concerns about security, and this cycle we’re again ensuring every ballot is secure and properly counted,” GOP press secretary Kiersten Pels told the Caller.
A source familiar with the party’s strategy told the Caller that as long as mail-in ballots are an option, they will be encouraging Americans to cast their vote any way they can but rejected that they were “leaning-in” to the voting method in any way. The source added that, as the White House previously floated, it’s possible the president will sign an executive order on such voting methods that could change their strategy.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump often encouraged his voters to cast their vote so the election would be “too big to rig.” His RNC did the same, balancing election integrity measures to ensure a fair election while also underscoring that it is important Americans actually cast a vote, despite the method.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in November that the president and his team were considering an executive order to ban mail-in voting.
A poll worker walks by voting booths as New Yorkers participate in early voting at a polling site in Brooklyn on October 29, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The source also pointed the Caller to the party’s numerous lawsuits around mail-in ballots and trying to make the method more secure. Such moves are in step with the party’s election integrity approach and with ensuring that if Americans’ choose to vote by mail it will be secure, the source added.
Over the last year, the RNC has filed several lawsuits related to regulating mail-in voting. The Supreme Court agreed in November to hear one of the party’s suits which debates whether federal law requires mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day.
The source familiar with the GOP’s strategy told the Caller that many Trump voters are already distrusting of mail-in ballots, which makes it hard and unproductive to lean in to the method.
Politico reported that the RNC plans to build on its 2024 campaign to push early mail and in-person voting. The party promoted early in-person voting during the 2024 presidential election, and during the special election in Tennessee for a Congressional seat.
During the race, a party official told the Caller that they launched a large-scale mail effort targeted at Republicans, independents and low-propensity voters in conjunction with the state GOP. Mailers sent to voters’ homes, and obtained by the Caller, promoted early voting similar to how the party approached the 2024 election.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort on December 9, 2025 in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Some state chapters told Politico their plans to push mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“We have to encourage people to embrace mail-in voting and early voting,” Pennsylvania GOP Chair Greg Rothman told the outlet in an interview. “That has to be a priority for us in 2026.”
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