President Trump said expanded mail-in voting could hurt him the election during an interview with Politico published Friday.
Trump said the Republican Party’s pending lawsuits seeking to halt the expansion of mail-in voting are critical to his reelection, and that their defeat would create a serious risk to his chances in the November 2020 presidential election.
“My biggest risk is that we don’t win lawsuits,” Trump said. “We have many lawsuits going all over. And if we don’t win those lawsuits, I think – I think it puts the election at risk.”
JUST IN: Trump says he sees mail-in voting as the biggest threat to his reelection https://t.co/hpB5NkrcL2 pic.twitter.com/lk4gifETOb
— The Hill (@thehill) June 19, 2020
Many states have expanded their vote-by-mail infrastructure amid the coronavirus pandemic. Both Republican and Democratic-run states have adopted the measures, citing them as necessary to protect voters who are worried of contracting the disease while ensuring their ability to vote. (RELATED: Pelosi Touts $3.6 Billion Mail-in Voting Proposal, Calls It ‘Voting At Home’)
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have opposed the measures taken by these states, and have invested $20 million into lawsuits hoping to reverse the expansions of mail-in voting that have been adopted across the country, The Hill reported.
Republicans have criticized mail-in voting as an opportunity increased voter fraud and election interference, though both advocates of mail-in voting and many election experts have cast doubt over the legitimacy of those fears.
Trump has frequently criticized mail-in voting. He recently threatened to withhold federal funding to Michigan and Nevada over their mail-in voting expansions, and has called the voting method “corrupt” on multiple occasions, The Hill reported. (RELATED: Coronavirus Fears Not A Valid Excuse To Request Texas Absentee Ballot, Appeals Court Rules)
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
Trump has also said that mail-in voting benefits Democrats and disadvantages Republicans politically, though studies have shown that the method does not uniquely benefit any one party.
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