President Donald Trump is letting state governments know that he firmly believes they should not be sending out mail-in ballots to residents.
“State of Nevada ‘thinks’ that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S.,” Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.
He added, “They can’t! If they do, ‘I think’ I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections.”
State of Nevada “thinks” that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can’t! If they do, “I think” I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020
Nevada officials moved to an all mail-in primary election ahead of the state’s June 9 primary.
Trump also blasted Michigan officials for sending out millions of mail-in ballot applications — though he implied they had sent out the actual ballots.
Trump wrote, “Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State.”
“I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!” he added.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1263074783673102337
Trump’s comments come as states are looking to expand mail-in voting, or switch to an all mail-in ballot election, due to health concerns over COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said all of the state’s registered voters would receive mail-in ballot applications ahead of the state’s elections in August in November to allow them to vote from home.
Benson responded to Trump’s tweet on Wednesday to point out that the state had simply sent out applications, not ballots.
“We sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia,” Benson wrote on Twitter.
Hi! 👋🏼 I also have a name, it’s Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020
Trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in voting. In April, he tweeted, “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it.”
“Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” he added.
Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans. @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020
Despite Trump’s warning that mail-in ballots increase the chances for fraud, studies have found that historically has not been the case. While there have been some cases of alleged fraud, studies have shown that there are very few instances where fraud was committed compared to the millions of ballots that were cast.
