Trump Against Absentee Ballots, U.S. Must Push for Mail-In Voting.

Absentee ballots, or mail-in voting, is a hot button issue for Donald Trump. He is an opponent of it, but according to Pew Research Center, 70% of Americans support the choice to mail-in votes. President Trump has made inaccurate claims in regards to mail-in voting. Mail-in voting gives Americans the chance to vote freely and safely during the pandemic.

Twitter made Trump’s comments come to light, after providing a link that fact-checks mail-in voting underneath his tweet. Trump tweeted, “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone.........living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!”

Here’s the list Twitter posted regarding Trump’s comments and mail-in voting.

-No evidence of voter fraud

-Only registered voters in California will receive absentee ballots

-Every state offers mail-in voting, five states only offer mail-in voting

Trump responded by attacking Twitter due to their fact checking link. Trump tweeted, “.@Twitter is now interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election. They are saying my statement on Mail-In Ballots, which will lead to massive corruption and fraud, is incorrect, based on fact-checking by Fake News CNN and the Amazon Washington Post........Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!”

Where is it easiest to vote by mail?

34 states and D.C. have no excuse mail-in voting, 16 states require an excuse according to ballotpedia:

-The 16 states are:

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia

-A proper excuse for these states are:

Not in home your county for election day or a long-term reason (college, military,

overseas worker)

Illness or disability

Must be working during polling hours

Incarceration, (if you do not have a felony)

Religious obligations

However, some states requiring an excuse are changing due to COVID-19.

Politico’s Zach Montellaro wrote about some states making mail-in voting temporary due to COVID-19.

-New Hampshire:

In a memo, the coronavirus is now “deemed to come within the definition of ‘disability’ for purposes of obtaining an absentee ballot.” wrote Attorney General Gordan MacDonald and Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

-Connecticut:

Governor Ned Lamont did not want the state's presidential primary to be canceled.

Why does Trump not like mail-in voting?

Despite Trump doing it himself in 2017 (Snopes), Trump made a comment about a Republican disadvantage when it comes to mail-in voting. According to Twitter, Trump tweeted in April, “Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” According to Sam Levine’s article, Sanford did a study about mail-in voting in California, Washington, and Utah. The study confirmed no bias towards either political party, but increased the voter turnout. Voter turnout was expected to be even higher in 2020 before the pandemic.

According to data from Louis Jacobson’s article on Politifact, 58-60% of the country voted in the 2008-2016 Presidential Elections. Experts predicted the voter turnout to be very high this November. In the 2018 Midterms, turnout rose from 36.7% in 2014, to 50%. The majority age demographic during all those elections were older voters. Trump won the 65+ crowd in 2016. A recent Florida poll by Quinnipiac says Trump is losing the 65+ demographic by 10 points. That age group is high at-risk during the pandemic. By restricting mail-in voting, we could see less people in that demographic at the polls across the country.

Why is mail-in voting crucial to upcoming elections?

Wisconsin’s Primary Election pleads a great case for what can happen in polling places in November. According to AP, 50+ people in Milwaukee who voted in early April tested positive for COVID-19. Voters were forced to wait in long lines. The Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Governor Tony Evers attempt at mail-in voting. We do not know where the world will be in November, but if Americans are dedicated enough to sit in line for a Primary Election, the General Election will be even longer with more exposure.

American’s have a right to vote. Voter turnout is important. Fraud is not a major concern when it comes to voting from home. COVID-19 is dangerous, this virus has a chance to suppress the vote of a lot of at-risk people. Mail-in voting is a way to vote safely for everyone, state’s should consider no excuse, or more lenient ways of receiving, absentee ballots.