President Trump added a new wrinkle in his arguments about voting by mail Tuesday by urging voters in Florida to do just that.
What You Need To Know
- President Trump tweeted support for Florida’s vote-by-mail system
- The Trump Campaign sued Nevada over the state's plan to mail ballots to all voters
- Democrats have an edge over Republicans on mail-in ballot requests
His position appears to vary by state – just like the laws governing the process of absentee voting.
Some states require a voter to provide an accepted excuse for not being able to cast their ballot in person.
Others – like Nevada – are planning to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters, whether or not they request them.
In that case, the president is threatening to sue.
“In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!” the president tweeted on Tuesday.
But, just hours later, he called on every voter in Florida to request a ballot and vote by mail.
“Whether you call in Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been clean up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail!”
The president was referring to a lawsuit filed against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s Republican Party over vote-by-mail deadlines and ballots not coming with pre-paid return postage.
The suit was settled in July, with the GOP agreeing Florida’s Secretary of State would be required to “educate” and “encourage” local election officials to look into pre-paid postage and maximize the use of ballot drop boxes.
In Florida, all registered voters in Florida are allowed to vote by mail, but they must submit a request before a ballot is mailed to them.
President Trump told White House reporters on Monday he has the power to limit absentee voting, if he decides that’s necessary.
“I have the right to do it…We haven’t gotten there yet. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
This is all playing out amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Spectrum News spoke with seven Supervisors of Elections in Florida, and each one said they’re seeing an overall increase in requests for mail-in ballots.
That may end up working in Democrats’ favor.
According to Florida’s Division of Elections, almost half-a-million more Democrats voted by mail in the 2020 presidential primaries.