FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nolan Fraver | NCFP Communication Director
[email protected]

The Party backs secure, fair elections with proven safeguards—not blanket bans that confuse voters and weaken participation.

Raleigh, N.C. — The North Carolina Forward Party (NCFP) today reaffirmed its opposition to President Donald Trump’s recently announced effort to eliminate mail-in voting nationwide.

During his three-hour, televised Cabinet meeting yesterday, August 26^th, the President doubled down on recent statements indicating that he would “lead a movement” and sign an executive order to ban mail-in ballots on a federal level ahead of the 2026 midterms—claims legal experts widely agree exceed presidential authority while also running contrary to the preferences of most Americans. President Trump’s plan proposes to end all mail-in voting across the U.S. while restricting the use of certain voting machines, with pressure campaigns to force states to comply.

This proposal runs contrary to the stance of the Trump campaign in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential election, when the president personally went on camera to promote early and mail-in voting in the 2024 cycle to boost turnout, then reversed course after the election and is now seeking to eliminate it entirely.

Since its inception, the NCFP has supported election systems that are secure, fair, and accessible—even championing specific common-sense integrity measures such as signature verification, barcoded tracking, and rigorous chain-of-custody mechanisms, many of which are already in use across North Carolina. While promoting election integrity efforts, however, we also view the administration’s efforts to ban mail-in voting as both unworkable and unconstitutional, citing the following as the foundations for our opposition.

• It’s unlawful. Congress establishes federal election laws, states administer and oversee elections, and, legally speaking, a president cannot unilaterally ban vote-by-mail.
• A ban runs counter to both practice and public opinion. Millions of Americans use mail ballots securely, with roughly 3 in 10 American voters casting mail ballots in 2024. Today, 58% of Americans stated they support future protections for mail-in voting, according to a recent Pew Research poll.
• We have strong safeguards at the state level. While all state election systems differ, North Carolina’s vote-by-mail system continues to operate with strong safeguards. In the 2024 general election, 298,076 North Carolinians cast their ballot by mail, according to the State Board of Elections. Each ballot was subject to multiple layers of verification, from ID requirements and witness rules to barcoded tracking and chain-of-custody protocols—practices the Forward Party supports and wants funded consistently.
• It disproportionately harms specific voter populations. Seniors, rural voters, working parents, absentee voters, and even veterans disproportionately rely on mail-in voting to participate in our electoral process. Eliminating this option would make it more difficult for these voter blocks to make their voices heard.

In an interview with Fox 5 DC earlier this week, National Forward Party Communications Director John Goodwin underscored this philosophy when asked whether the administration’s approach should be to expand options or limit them, stating “Absolutely not limiting. Anything that allows more people to vote in a safe, secure way that makes everyone’s vote count and makes it easier for them to cast that ballot…we think that’s a great idea.”

As a Party, NCFP supports any measure which aligns with the effort to give ‘More Choice and More Voice’ to the citizens of North Carolina and across the country. Public support favors options over bans, with most Americans favoring added flexibility in how they vote—not fewer choices and more barriers. In keeping with our bottom-up, data-driven approach, this is why we at the Forward Party are fully behind maintaining absentee-by-mail as one of several secure voting options alongside early in-person and Election Day voting.

In addition to expanded options, we support standardized and transparent safeguards, including signature verification, ballot tracking, and clear postmark/receipt rules that are communicated early to prevent confusion. We also promote timely processing and reporting paired with public education so voters understand when and how ballots are counted. Finally, any federal electoral changes must pass through Congress and fall within constitutional limits, rather than having a president cancel lawful voting methods by fiat.

We call on President Trump to abandon his campaign to end mail-in voting and members of Congress and State Boards of Elections to stand up to any effort to eliminate opportunities to vote for citizens of the United States.

For accurate, non-partisan information on how to request, complete, and return an absentee ballot—as well as the security measures behind it—North Carolinians can visit the Absentee-By-Mail Voting section of the North Carolina State Board of Elections website, or the Vote by Mail page accessible from the NCFP’s online Voter Resources page. The North Carolina Forward Party will continue to promote and share official, legal avenues to vote for the citizens of our state and help them navigate upcoming municipal and statewide elections to increase participation in our democracy.