Republican nightmare: Trump vote-by-mail demonizing driving down GOP participation
by Emily Larsen, Political Reporter |
| June 26, 2020 12:01 AM
President Trump’s extreme opposition to mail-in ballots is more likely hurting him and down-ballot Republicans than it is helping him.
Mounting evidence in voter registration data, a survey, and organizer anecdotes shows that instead of preventing the voting method from being a major factor in the November election, his stance is turning Republican voters off from using the method entirely, which could have the effect of depressing Republican votes.
The president’s rampant alarmism on mail-in voting — most recently claiming that foreign governments will rig the election by printing millions of mail-in ballots, an idea rebuked by elections officials — frustrates those trying to push state election officials and Congress to provide ample absentee voting and in-person voting options and resources in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. They point out that many analyses find that mail-in voter fraud is small and often prosecuted.
“The ultimate choice for American citizens should not be 'jeopardize my health, or vote?'†Tom Ridge, who was the first secretary of Homeland Security and former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, told the Washington Examiner. He now co-chairs voting rights-amid-a-pandemic organization VoteSafe with former Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/republican-nightmare-trump-vote-by-mail-demonizing-driving-down-gop-participation
