President Trump said Thursday he doesn’t want any states to allow widespread voting by mail, despite moves in many states to expand the voting option during the coronavirus crisis.
“We don’t want them to do mail-in ballots because it’s going to lead to total election fraud,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Michigan, which is mailing absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million voters. “We don’t want anyone to do mail-in ballots.”
Mr. Trump warned Wednesday that he might withhold federal aid from Michigan and Nevada, another state expanding vote-by-mail options, if they move ahead with their plans.
The president said exceptions for voting by mail should only be allowed if a voter is sick or, like Mr. Trump, if “they live in the White House and they have to vote in Florida.”
“If there’s a reason for it, that’s OK,” he said.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the president’s opposition part of “an effort to misinform and confuse voters about their rights.”
Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska and West Virginia also are mailing ballot applications to voters.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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