According to Attorney General William Barr, the narrative surrounding mail-in voting changed when President Donald Trump stepped into office.
During a testy exchange with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Barr argued before the Trump administration took office, many found mail-in voting to be a system subject to corruption.
“Let me talk. Since that time, there have been, in the newspapers, in networks, academic studies, saying it is open to fraud and coercion,” Barr said.
He added, “The only time the narrative changed is after this administration came in, but elections that have been held with mail have found substantial fraud and coercion.”
Watch his comments below:
Attorney General Barr on universal mail-in voting: “this is playing with fire…very open to fraud and coercion” pic.twitter.com/8LvkOKWpxI
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 2, 2020
Blitzer pressed Barr on his argument and claimed there had not been evidence of widespread fraud.
Barr noted the United States has not had the use of mail-in voting to the extent it is being proposed.
He claimed mailing ballots to every American on voter rolls is not good practice because the voter rolls are inaccurate.
“People who should get them don’t get them, which is what has been one of the major complaints in states that have tried this, in municipal elections, and people who get them are not the right people,” Barr said.
He continued, “They’re people who have replaced the previous occupant, and they can make them out and sometimes multiple ballots come to the same address with several generations of occupants. Do you think that’s a way to run a vote?”
Blitzer suggested there are several states that only have mail-in voting.
“This is playing with fire. We’re a very closely divided country here, and if people have to have confidence in the results of the election and the legitimacy of the government and people trying to change the rules to this methodology, which as a matter of logic, is very open to fraud and coercion is reckless and dangerous, and people are playing with fire,” Barr said.
