Trump escalates fight against mail-in voting

US President Trump this week ratcheted up his attacks on mail-in voting as more states move to increase absentee ballot access due to coronavirus uncertainties.

The president has levied unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud dating back to the 2016 election and has continued to do so even though he was victorious. But he took his complaints a step further in threatening to withhold federal funding from Michigan and Nevada, two potential swing states, as they took different steps to allow residents to vote by mail.

"To really vote, and without fraud, you have to go and you have to vote at the polling place," Trump said Thursday at a Ford factory in Michigan, arguing that mail-in voting is "wrought with fraud and abuse."

The president has targeted Democrat-run states over their efforts to expand mail-in voting to ensure safety during the pandemic, lashing out in recent weeks at Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and California. GOP-led states such as Nebraska, West Virginia and Georgia have made similar plans to offer applications for absentee ballots but have not drawn sharp rebukes from the Oval Office.

Experts note there is minimal evidence of meaningful fraud in mail-in voting, and some see Trump’s latest round of attacks as an effort to restrict ballot access and preemptively cast suspicion on the 2020 election results should he lose.

“It’s just a new variation on how he was calling into question the election results before the election happened and sowing distrust,” said Doug Heye, former Republican National Committee communications director. “You didn’t hear Republicans talking about mail-in ballots being a problem six months ago or four years ago.”

The president has in recent weeks decried mail-in voting as “corrupt,” “terrible” and “very dangerous,” insisting Americans should vote in person barring extraordinary circumstances and be required to present identification.

But on Wednesday, he added a threat to those criticisms after being set off Wednesday by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who sent applications to voters to fill out and return if they want an absentee ballot.

Trump initially mistook the measure as sending out actual ballots and claimed it was “done illegally.”

He threatened to withhold funding for Michigan if it did not backtrack, even as his allies struggled to point to a specific law the state had violated. Experts said the Trump campaign could sue Michigan if it saw an issue with Benson’s actions but argued they were not a basis to withhold federal funds.

The president has declined to elaborate on what government funding he would target and instead has broadened his criticism to mail-in voting as a whole.

MG