Arizona officials would tell Trump to "pound sand" on mail voting

Why it matters: The overwhelming majority of Arizonans vote by early ballot, most of which are cast by people who receive them in the mail.

• Nearly 75% of Arizona voters cast their ballots by mail in the 2024 general election, per a report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
• Arizonans can also deliver their early ballots to voting centers or drop boxes, or vote early in person.
• Nearly 88% of Maricopa County voters cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election.

The big picture: Trump and many of his allies have for years falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen, and they often point to mail-in ballots as a source of widespread fraud, despite a lack of evidence.

Driving the news: Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that he'll "lead a movement to get rid of" mail-in ballots, along with "inaccurate" and "Seriously Controversial" voting machines.

• He told reporters on Monday that an executive order is being drafted to end mail-in ballots.
• Trump said he also wants to get rid of voting machines, but it wasn't clear what types of devices he was referring to. Arizona uses tabulation machines to count ballots.
• The president falsely claimed that states are merely "agents" of the federal government in counting and tabulating votes, and must do what he tells them.

State of play: Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pushed back against Trump's claims on X, pointing out that states aren't simply agents of the federal government.

• If Trump attempts to ban mail-in voting, Fontes told Axios, "After I tell him to pound sand, I will probably ask the attorney general to file suit."
• In a statement to Axios, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Trump "has zero authority to interfere in Arizona's elections" and she'll "vigorously fight any unlawful attempt by the federal government to tell Arizona how we can administer" them.
• Fontes also noted that mail-in voting is "exceedingly popular," including in some states that have all-mail elections.

Yes, but: As Fontes noted, the U.S. Constitution says the times, places and manners of holding elections for Congress "shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof," subject to changes by Congress.

• Provisions of Trump's March executive order that made sweeping changes to federal elections, including a proof of citizenship requirement, have thus far been blocked in court.
• Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor, described Trump's comments as "bluster" in a social media post, saying the Constitution "gives precisely zero power over elections to the President."

Catch up quick: In a sit-down with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him "it's impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections."

• Trump further claimed that the Russian president told him he won the 2020 election "by so much," which Trump has continued to claim years after his loss and the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack that followed.
• "And you lost it because of mail-in voting. It was a rigged election," Trump said Putin told him.

What they're saying: White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement provided to Axios that Trump "wants to secure America's elections and protect the vote" by requiring voter ID, ensuring illegal votes aren't cast and "preventing cheating through lax and incompetent voting laws in states like California and New York."