2 months ago
Donald Trump has described voting by message arsenic “cheating” astatine an arena successful Memphis, Tennessee, conscionable days aft casting a mail‑in ballot himself.
“Mail-in voting intends mail-in cheating. I telephone it mail-in cheating, and we sewage to do thing astir it all,” nan US president said connected Monday, successful remarks to a roundtable connected his administration’s crime taskforce.
Records show Trump voted by message successful nan typical predetermination for House territory 87, which encompasses his Mar-a-Lago play club, according to nan Palm Beach region supervisor of elections website. Trump has endorsed Republican campaigner Jon Maples successful nan title against Democrat Emily Gregory.
Trump chose to message his ballot moreover though he has precocious been successful Palm Beach wherever early in-person voting was disposable until Sunday evening.
In caller months, Trump has renewed his baseless claims that nan believe is taxable to wide fraud, arsenic he pressures Senate Republicans to walk a restrictive voting bill that would require impervious of US citizenship for caller voters, arsenic good arsenic different measures. The president is besides pushing for amendments to nan legislation, notably a prohibition connected mail-in ballots pinch constricted exceptions.
On societal media, Trump has railed against voting by mail, calling it a “scam”, and has vowed to gut nan process. During his State of nan Union reside past month, he demanded “no much crooked mail-in ballots”.
Many predetermination experts opportunity that nan president’s relentless attacks connected mail-in voting complete nan years undermine wide spot successful nan antiauthoritarian process, and that location are extended checks and balances by section officials to mitigate astir fraud.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales called Trump’s determination to ballot by message “a non-story”.
“As President Trump has said, nan SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to usage mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, aliases recreation – but cosmopolitan mail-in voting should not beryllium allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” Wales added.
“As everyone knows, nan President is simply a resident of Palm Beach and participates successful Florida elections, but he evidently chiefly lives astatine nan White House successful Washington, D.C.”
This is not nan first clip successful caller years that Trump has voted by mail. During nan 2020 statesmanlike superior he mailed his ballot contempt declaring – without grounds – that nan Democrats were attempting to “steal” nan predetermination via mail-in ballots.
