WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump once again went after what he calls “universal mail-in voting” fraud, calling foul play and even considered delaying national elections “until people can properly, securely and safely vote.”
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
But the U.S. Constitutions give Congress the ultimate power to make decisions over the timing of the elections.
“I’ve never been asked the question before,” said Attorney General William Barr when asked in congressional testimony earlier this week whether Trump could change the election date. “I’ve never looked into it.”
Trump has previously questioned the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, which have been used in far greater numbers in primary elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also made allegations of potential voter-rigging without actual evidence and has refused to say he would accept official election results if he lost.
Trump did not provide any evidence of voter fraud this time, either. Such fraud is a serious crime with serious criminal penalties, under U.S. law. Five states already rely exclusively on mail-in ballots with extra security measures in place to prevent such fraud.
Mail-In Voting is already proving to be a catastrophic disaster. Even testing areas are way off. The Dems talk of foreign influence in voting, but they know that Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter the race. Even beyond that, there’s no accurate count!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Election security experts largely agree all forms of voter fraud are rare, including absentee balloting, according to AP News.
In Michigan, absentee ballot voting has been promoted by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson since the peak of COVID-19 cases. Absentee applications were mailed out earlier in the year, with many choosing the method over traditional polls because of health concerns. Michigan has not shunned polling stations, however, and Governor Whitmer’s last executive order on mask wearing does not make it compulsory to don a mask at one.
Whitmer said Trump should focus on saving American lives, not threatening to delay the 2020 elections.
“It’s clear that the president is more focused on his chances in the 2020 election than on protecting families from a virus that has killed more than 150,000 Americans,” Whitmer said. “The truth is that mail-in absentee voting is safe, simple and patriotic – so much so that the president and more than a dozen of his closest advisors have done it.
“If we could hold an election in 1864 in the midst of a Civil War threatening to tear our country apart, we can and will hold one in 2020. It’s time for the president to get his priorities straight and work with Congress on a bipartisan recovery package that protects our families, frontline workers and small business owners.”
Last week, Benson reported more than 1.8 million requests for absentee voter ballots with more than 600,000 returned. Comparatively, the total number of absentee voter ballots cast in the August 2016 state primary was just 484,094.
In a statement sent over to The Arab American News, Benson said her department will ensure fair and accessible voting for Michigan residents, no matter what the president has implied about the matter.
“Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Michigan’s elections will continue to be safe, secure, accessible, and on schedule,” Benson said. “Any suggestions to the contrary are irresponsible attempts to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of voters.”
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