President Trump suggested delaying the 2020 presidential election this morning, until votes can be cast safely and accurately.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???” the President wrote on Twitter.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Democrats have been pushing mail-in voting as possible recourse to voting in-person because of concerns about Covid19. But concerns about the integrity of elections with significant levels of mail-in voting remain.
Last month a municipal election in Paterson, NJ, saw 19% of roughly 14,000 ballots disqualified because of alleged voter fraud.
Paterson held the election through mail-in voting because of Covid19.
Also last month, the President tweeted that mail in ballots are susceptible to forgery. Two days later, the Department of Justice announced a mail carrier in West Virginia was being charged with attempted election fraud by forging mail-in ballots.
The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and “force” people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2020
And a poll conducted in late June by The Hill – HarrisX found that 68% of registered voters were either “somewhat or very concerned about the possibility of tampering with mail-in ballots.”
Still, the U.S. president does not have the authority to unilaterally change the date of the election – only Congress does. And that idea had cold water thrown on it quickly by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, which has oversight over election administration in the House.
There will be no delay in the #2020Election. Congress sets the election date, and it should not be changed. It will be held on November 3rd, as planned and required by law.
— US Rep Rodney Davis (@RodneyDavis) July 30, 2020