MALONEY: We Should Eliminate Mail-In Voting—But Republicans Should Use It While It Exists

“We don’t do mail in voting, Cliff—that’s a democrat tactic!”

I hear this everyday. 

Mail-in voting is seen as a strategy used by democrats, and it’s often associated with voter fraud. So a lot of republicans are afraid to use it because they worry they’ll look like hypocrites, or worse yet, democrats. Many see it as giving up on our values.

I understand that mindset. I really do. In fact, I probably despise mail-in voting more than most people reading this.

But here’s the hard truth: elections are not won by how we wish the rules worked. They are won by how the rules work right now. And right now, Republicans are losing races we should be winning because we refuse to adapt.

That is not just a problem for our party—it’s a problem for America.

I believe elections should be free and fair. One day. Paper ballots. All counted on the same day. 

No drama. No guessing. No weeks of waiting and wondering.

That system worked because it limited fraud. People knew when they voted, how their vote was counted, and when results would be final. And then mail-in voting changed all of that. It spread elections over weeks. It increased confusion. It weakened systems that were designed to protect election integrity.

I don’t like it, and I never have, but liking something and dealing with reality are two very different things.

Over time, Democrats changed election laws across the country. They expanded early voting. They loosened rules around mail-in ballots. They reduced checks that once helped stop mistakes and abuse.

Many Republicans warned this would cause problems. Some still argue it invites fraud. Others focus on fairness.

But while Republicans argued, Democrats acted.

They built massive operations around mail-in voting. They trained volunteers. They tracked ballots. They chased votes weeks before Election Day. They treated voting as a long campaign, not a single event.

Republicans did not.

Instead, many republicans keep playing by the old rules, even long after those rules were gone. That has cost us elections at every level, from school boards to Congress, to the presidency.

We need to follow the wisdom of noted philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, here. 

When the old “rules” are no longer being followed by your opponents, you have no moral obligation to continue following them yourself. This isn’t a matter of being the bigger person—it’s just moral grandstanding. And it’s not a matter of legality because the laws have been changed.  

Yes, you may lose with your principles firmly intact, but at the end of the day, losers don’t legislate.

Some people say using mail-in voting is wrong. They say we should “be better” or “take the high road.”

That sounds nice. It also sounds like a great way to keep losing.

The laws allow mail-in voting. Democrats use it aggressively. Refusing to do the same is not moral strength. It's a self-inflicted weakness.

There’s nothing noble in complaining about the system after losing after not doing everything in your power to win. If we want to fix the system, we need power. And to get power, we need to win.

That starts with using every legal tool available.

One reason this matters so much is because Republicans are already fighting uphill. We do not control the media. We do not control Hollywood. We do not control universities. We do not control Big Tech.

For decades, those institutions pushed a constant stream of left-wing ideas. That created the myth that conservative values were a fringe position. As a result, many Americans stayed quiet because they were afraid of being attacked for speaking out.

We all saw it. Conservatives were mocked at work. Small businesses were targeted. People were harassed online. Many even received death threats. That kept conservatives silent at first, but society has finally started to push back.

When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he created a public forum where users could again debate ideas. I believe this was the catalyst for what we’re seeing today because it showed millions of Americans that their views actually weren’t the minority, and despite the claims from the left that everyone was leaving X, it continued steadily growing. 

Then after the 2024 election, even Facebook and Instagram, once known for their blatant censorship of conservative ideology, shifted to follow Musk’s path to free speech. 

Now we see posts pushing extreme left wing policies being questioned or even mocked.

More Americans are willing to speak openly because their fear has faded.

It became clear that our political culture was not as one-sided as it once seemed, and Americans have noticed.

Americans are understandably frustrated by left wing policies. They’re tired of open borders. They’re tired of crime being ignored. They’re tired of drugs, chaos, and endless excuses.

They want real leadership. They want accountability and a government that works for them. I believe the Republican Party is the answer. But belief alone does not win elections.

Winning requires organization. It requires showing up everywhere, not just on Election Day.

Most people focus on presidential elections. That is a mistake.

Real power is built locally. City councils. School boards. County offices. Judges. State legislatures. 

Democrats know this. That is why they push mail-in voting so hard. It allows them to lock in votes early. It reduces turnout risk. It gives them more time to fix problems.

Republicans cannot afford to ignore that advantage any longer.

Mail-in voting is just a tool, and right now, we’re not using it at all and that is costing us the victories we desperately need.

I still want election reform. I still want tighter rules. I still want Election Day to mean something again.

But those changes will never happen if Republicans keep losing.

The way forward is simple—we need to use mail-in voting. Master it. Compete where Democrats compete. Win where they once dominated.

Then, once we are in power, we fight to restore trust and integrity to the system.

This country is worth that effort.

This is ours to win. But it is also ours to lose if we aren’t willing to do what we need to do to win.

Democrats know that doors win wars. It’s about time that Republicans acknowledge it too.

Cliff Maloney is the CEO of Citizens Alliance. You can follow him @maloney on X.