By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict mail-in voting in this year’s midterm elections, the president is calling on voters to vote early and by mail as he campaigns in support of Republican candidates nationwide.
National polling has indicated that Democrats are more enthusiastic about voting in this year’s elections than Republicans are, and control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate is at stake in the election. If Democrats take control of one or both bodies, Trump and members of his administration likely will face investigations and could be impeached.
“So vote early, vote by mail, or vote on Election Day, Nov. 3rd,” Trump said at a rally in Wasilla on Tuesday, urging voters to track their mailed ballot to ensure it is received.
Alaska has a limited ballot tracking service online; voters cannot tell until after the election whether their ballot was counted or rejected, and current state law does not allow voters to fix any technical problems that cause a ballot to be rejected.
“Sort of follow your vote if you’re going to do mail-in,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments in Alaska followed a video he posted Oct. 3 that urged Republicans to vote early and by mail.
“If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote. Vote early, vote by mail or vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3rd, so we can defeat the radical left Dumb-ocrats in a midterm victory that is too big to rig,” Trump said in the video.
A week later, in New York on Oct. 9, Trump again urged voters to cast ballots by mail.
“We’re in the golden age of America. And if you’re voting by mail, make sure that you request your ballot by Oct. 24th, remember that, and have it postmarked by Election Day. I don’t know, I always like Election Day better, but what do I know about things like that?” he said.
While Trump has repeatedly tried to deter Americans from voting by mail, a voting method he attributes to his loss in 2020, he has also reversed course before. In 2024, he urged Republicans to vote by mail ahead of that year’s election despite denigrating mail-in voting for months beforehand.
Trump himself frequently votes by mail in Florida elections.
Last week in Tennessee and in Ohio on Monday for a rally, Trump didn’t mention mail-in voting but noted that early voting is underway. “So get out and vote. And if you have to, you do it Nov. 3rd. I don’t care how you do it, but we have to do it,” he said in Ohio.
At rallies in Montana and Arizona on Wednesday, Trump did not mention mail-in voting but did note that early voting is already under way in both states. He did not say, as in Ohio, that supporters should vote early.
“For some reason, when you have a president, Republican or Democrat, it’s just brutal,” Trump said on Oct. 10 in Tennessee. “They don’t seem to win the midterms. But we’re gonna turn that tradition around.”







Content warning: This story discusses suicide.