House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is criticizing President Donald Trump’s disapproval of mail-in voting, as she is highlighting contradictory factors in his perspective.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, the California lawmaker was asked about her ongoing clash with the president and the Republican-led Senate over the next coronavirus stimulus package and mail-in voting.
On multiple occasions, Trump has lambasted Democratic states offering mail-in voting as an option for the upcoming general election. The president has repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility of voter fraud.
Republicans have even sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over mail-in voting, as previously reported on IJR. However, Hayes noted that the president, himself, votes by mail.
Pelosi also weighed in with her opinion, saying, “I don’t know what he’s doing, and I don’t know if he knows what he’s doing. But what he’s doing is not right.”
She went on to defend her stance on voting by mail, noting that it has been an option for quite some time with no history of voter fraud.
“The fact is, as a former Chair of the California Democratic Party, I can tell you Republicans have always enjoyed much success with vote-by-mail,” Pelosi said.
She continued, “The absentee ballots have never been a good moment for us over time. So, they know how to use the mail for their voting. And there’s no scientific study that says one party or the other benefits from it.”
See Pelosi’s remarks below (starting at 20:00):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liqQjfLrZdU
Pelosi also argues that mail-in voting should now be considered a health issue due to the coronavirus pandemic, not a political one.
“This is now a health issue. We talk about saving lives, testing, the livelihood, the economy, and the life of our democracy, vote-by-mail. Now, people have to choose between their health and their vote. That shouldn’t be the case. We should always be removing obstacles of participation to the vote.”
With public health being a national concern, Pelosi also stressed the importance of removing obstacles so that everyone can have the right to vote despite the pandemic.
“That is the sacred right of our democracy, to vote,” she said. “Remove obstacles. But at a time of the health — of a pandemic, even more, important to give people an option that is not a risk to their lives, as well.”