President Donald Trump is warning he may take action against states that vastly expand mail-in voting.
Trump took aim at Nevada after the state’s legislature passed a bill on Sunday that would automatically send mail-in ballots to all active voters in the state ahead of the general election in November.
“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,” Trump wrote in response on Monday morning.
He continued to suggest that Nevada lawmakers were “using Covid to steal the state,” and signaled he would bring a lawsuit against the state. He added, “See you in Court!”
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! https://t.co/cNSPINgCY7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020
This is not the first time Trump has targeted Nevada for expanding mail-in voting, as IJR reported. On May 20, Trump sent out a tweet that blasted the state for moving to an all mail-in ballot primary and threatened to withhold funds from the state.
“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, adding, “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
As states move to expand access to mail-in voting — to allow Americans to vote from home and avoid potential exposure to COVID-19 by going to a polling station — Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about mail-in voting and suggested that it would lead to massive voter fraud that would disadvantage Republicans — despite a lack of evidence.
While Trump has stressed that he approves of absentee ballots, where voters have to request ballots, he has voiced strong opposition to the idea of automatically sending mail-in ballots to all active voters.
Aside from Trump’s suggestion that expanding access to mail-in ballots would lead to voter fraud, there are serious concerns that the Postal Service will be overwhelmed by a wave of ballots that could lead to delays in delivery of the ballots, or potentially ballots being lost.
CBS News affiliate WRDW conducted an experiment in Philadelphia to see how successful the Postal Service was in delivering ballots. The station sent 100 mock ballots from various locations around the city to a P.O. Box and found that after delays, 97 ballots were delivered.
Watch the report below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxxHUv-9HyQ
Additionally, a recent NPR study found that 65,000 mail-in ballots, cast in elections held in the first half of 2020, were invalidated because they were delivered after the deadline.
Some congressional Democrats have alleged that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was chosen by Trump, is deliberately attempting to sabotage the Postal Service’s ability to deliver ballots on time.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said in a tweet, “Trump put Postmaster DeJoy in charge of the postal service to dismantle the USPS [and] sabotage vote by mail.”
“New procedures are causing massive delays,” she added.
Last month, DeJoy implemented new cost-saving measures for the Postal Service. A memo warned, “We may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks.”
In a statement to CNN, the Postal Service said that there may be “temporary service impacts.”
However, the statement stressed that the changes should not have an impact on delivering ballots on time. It also denied that there was an effort to intentionally slow down the delivery of the ballots.