President Trump hates the idea that several states are allowing people to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that it will lead to massive voter fraud.
That's interesting from a politician who was fraudulently elected in 2016 because of Russian-induced voter fraud.
Yesterday, he threatened to hold up unspecified federal funding to Michigan "if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!"
Of course, Michigan's governor is "that woman," Gretchan Whitmer, who Trump has repeatedly insulted because of her tough stand on behalf of her state for coronavirus assistance. But remarkably, there are Republican states, including South Carolina, that have authorized mail-in voting in one form or another. Haven't heard a peep about them, though.
Then, he made a similar threat to Nevada.
Later he backed off the claim that Michigan's secretary of state had acted illegally, but not from his claim that both states are taking steps that will encourage voter fraud.
In a fact-checking piece this evening, Amber Phillips of The Washington Post's "The Fix," pointed out that Trump last month warned Republicans to "fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting."
That warning also came in a tweet, in which he said Democrats are "clamoring" for voting by mail. "Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn't work out well for Republicans."
Yea, it doesn't work out well for Republicans because the more people who actually vote, the better chance Democrats have of being elected.
Trump knows that, doesn't like it, but it's called democracy: he or she who gets the most votes wins.
Phillips researched some of Trump's main arguments against mail-in voting and found them wanting.
First, she said, there is no evidence of widespread fraud, either in regular voting or mail voting, according to election experts in the five states that do all-mail elections -- Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah. Those states have established requirements to prevent fraud.
Moreover, Phillips said she found no evidence mail-in voting helps Democrats win more, despite the logic that I just mentioned above, and despite Trump's contention.
Wrote Phillips, Several studies I detail here have found the following: Voting by mail does help voters who don’t normally participate in most elections increase their participation, and it can help people participate in more down-ballot races.
But no study has found that it gives a noticeable benefit to either party. One study called the benefit “neutral.” It’s worth noting that Utah is a state that regularly votes Republican with all-mail elections.
So, to all the Trumpers who are always saying "What about Hillary?" or "What about Obama?", I say to Trump and his supporters, "What about Utah?"
Trump's argument, in fact, is a fraud. He is simply afraid that by making it as easy as possible for people to vote, even in a life-threatening pandemic, he and the Republicans who support him will be toast.