GOP stunned by early Democratic voting in key states, fears Trump's attack on mail-in ballot could hurt them
Republican Party strategists could be worried as it has been found that in key battleground states, more voters of the Democratic Party than the GOP have requested and returned their mail-in ballots for the November 3 election. President Donald Trump and some of his allies have been attacking the mail-in voting system, which is being encouraged in the times of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it would lead to widespread electoral corruption. The president said that the election could eventually land up at the Supreme Court for a long-drawn battle over its results and even refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power provided he loses to Joe Biden.
Trump spoke on the issue during his first presidential debate with Biden in Cleveland on Tuesday, September 29 and also cited the recent instances where “discarded” military ballots carrying his name were found in Pennsylvania, adding to the speculation over a less-than-honest election.
Democratic supporters taking wide lead over GOP counterparts in seeking mail ballots
According to a report by the Washington Post, of the nine million-plus voters who sought mail ballots as of Monday, September 28, in five critical states -- Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa and Maine -- of which data was available, 52 percent were Democrat supporters while only 28 percent were Republicans. Twenty percent were found to be unaffiliated.
The report also cited more internal data of the Democratic and Republican parties to show a similar trend unfolding in states like New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio.
GOP urges Trump to change his words on mail-in ballots
That the Republicans are deeply worried over Trump getting a second term was evident from the fact that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell met Trump two times on the issue, urging him to not utter words about mail balloting “imprecisely”, the daily cited a party strategist as saying.
Trump has a challenge in winning the states of Florida and North Carolina (the Democrats have won this state only once since 1980) but there, the Democratic voters are seen returning their ballots at a higher rate than their Republican counterparts, putting the red strategists under a lot of concern. The incumbent president has to pocket Florida in order to get a second term but with Mike Bloomberg vowing to pour $100 millions in the Sunshine State, the Republican Party is facing an added challenge to repeat the 2016 result there.
More than 80 million voters are expected to cast their ballots via mail because of the pandemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the country. Old voters, who constitute a reliable voting bloc, may stay indoors on the Election Day because of the health threat.
The president, however, is in no mood to accept the mail-in balloting and it was seen on Wednesday, September 30, again as he tweeted against the arrangement, tweeting in capitals: “100,000 DEFECTIVE BALLOTS IN NEW YORK. THEY WANT TO REPLACE THEM, BUT WHERE, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO, THE BALLOTS THAT WERE FIRST SENT? THEY WILL BE USED BY SOMEBODY. USA, END THIS SCAM - GO OUT AND VOTE!”
100,000 DEFECTIVE BALLOTS IN NEW YORK. THEY WANT TO REPLACE THEM, BUT WHERE, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO, THE BALLOTS THAT WERE FIRST SENT? THEY WILL BE USED BY SOMEBODY. USA, END THIS SCAM - GO OUT AND VOTE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2020
His tweet was in context of the New York City Board of Elections printing and resending almost 100,000 absentee ballots to those voters who got defective envelopes in the ballot packages. It has been reported that several voters got absentee ballots that bear wrong names and addresses printed on the return envelope.
In another tweet which though was not in capitals, the president said: “Wow! 100,000 Mail In Ballots in New York City a total MESS. Mayor and Governor have no idea what to do. Big Fraud, Unfixable! Cancel Ballots and go out and VOTE, just like in past decades, when there were no problems!”
Wow! 100,000 Mail In Ballots in New York City a total MESS. Mayor and Governor have no idea what to do. Big Fraud, Unfixable! Cancel Ballots and go out and VOTE, just like in past decades, when there were no problems!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2020
GOP officials told the Post that they were to assure voters that their mail-in ballots will be counted. “It's astronomical. You see these numbers in a state like North Carolina, and how can you not be concerned?” one strategist, who was “horrified” by the trend, was quoted as saying.
The Republican Party has been found taking the route opposite to that of President Trump. As early as in April, a Republican National Committee robocall voiced by the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, said mail-on ballot could be safe and secure.The party has also ensured that volunteers conduct door-to-door campaigns to encourage people to cast ballots.
The Republicans have also conceded that they are trailing the Democrats in the race to hold an all-mail election. “We always expected to be behind at this point as Democrats have made it their mission to push for an all-mail election that brings fraud and chaos into the system,” Republican National Committee spokesman Mike Reed said, adding: “You'll see Democrats predominantly vote by mail, and our voters will come out in droves to vote in person, especially on Election Day.”