FACT FOCUS: The Trump administration is falsely claiming Jimmy Carter was against mail-in voting
Source: Associated Press
FACT FOCUS: The Trump administration is falsely claiming Jimmy Carter was against mail-in voting
By MELISSA GOLDIN
Updated 5:14 PM EDT, March 11, 2026
The Trump administration is using a 20-year-old report to misrepresent former President Jimmy Carter’s views on mail-in and absentee ballots as it pushes for federal legislation that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship and photo ID requirements for voting ahead of the midterm elections.
On two successive days this week, President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt invoked the 2005 report by the Commission on Federal Election Reform while advocating for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act. The commission’s co-chairs were Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker, who held senior government positions in the administrations of three Republican presidents — Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Trump and Leavitt falsely claimed that Carter was against the use of mail-in and absentee ballots because they can lead to fraud, a mischaracterization of the report’s conclusions.
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THE FACTS: Carter supported mail-in voting and absentee ballots, according to statements by the late president, his grandson Jason Carter and The Carter Center. The 2005 report stated that absentee and mail-in ballots can create opportunities for fraud, but also suggested ways to reduce that risk and recommended further research on the issue. Experts say there is no evidence that mail-in and absentee voting leads to widespread fraud, either now or 20 years ago.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-jimmy-carter-mail-absentee-ballots-fraud-c5ae733c697d0b440f37b632d9b4caea