Decoding Ballot Security: Trump Pushes for Watermarked Paper

In Authentication & Brand News™, March 2024, we reported on the US state of Georgia’s decision to adopt watermarks and reject QR codes on ballot papers. In May 2025, we highlighted Mohave County’s approval to add security features to its ballots for the 2026 midterm elections, in an effort to restore voter trust.

Now, US President Donald Trump has announced he will lead a movement to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines, claiming that both enable voter fraud.

‘I am going to lead a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots, and also, while we’re at it, highly inaccurate, very expensive, and seriously controversial voting machines, which cost 10 times more than accurate and sophisticated watermark paper, which is faster, and leaves no doubt, at the end of the evening, as to who won, and who lost, the election,’ Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Trump said he plans to begin his effort by signing an executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms, though any such move would almost certainly face legal challenges.