Hinson says she shares Trump’s frustrations about mail-in ballots, voting machines

MASON CITY — President Trump last week announced that he plans to lead a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines in the country ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Trump says he will outline in an executive order barring states from using mail ballots and potentially some voting machines. Legal experts say Trump does not have the legal authority to order how states are to run their elections.

North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says what’s most important in the conversation is protecting election integrity. “I think what the president has seen and what we’ve all seen is states like California that don’t do it right, where it takes weeks and weeks to count ballots. They find ballots in drawers. The transparency does not exist for voters, and I think that’s where the frustration lies, and I share that frustration with the president.”

Hinson says Iowa has a really good process when compared to the rest of the country.  “I trust Iowa’s process, and we don’t have much voter fraud in Iowa as a result of that. Ultimately at the end of the day, that’s what we look forward to working with President Trump on is ensuring that only American citizens are voting in our elections. I’ve proudly supported legislation to ensure that is the case with provisions like the SAVE Act, which would make sure again that only Americans are voting, and that only Americans are considered for congressional representation also.”

Trump’s stance contradicts efforts made during the 2024 election by the Republican Party which encouraged the use of mail-in and early voting in an effort to turn out voters.