Trump changes tune on voting by mail, urging Floridians to cast ballots remotely
President Trump seemingly flipped his position on voting by mail, at least in Florida, after spending months bashing the practice as ripe for potential fraud. Florida is a key battleground state, from which the president and his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, have voted remotely in the past.
"Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True," Mr. Trump wrote in a tweet. "Florida's Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA"
In a press briefing minutes after that tweet, McEnany claimed the president's position has not changed, and insisted absentee voting for a reason is different from mass mail-in voting. McEnany also said the campaign recently had a court victory in Florida regarding ballots, "so I believe that's what he was referencing."
But the president's language says "whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure..."
Mr. Trump has railed against voting by mail in tweets and in press conferences in the last several months, insisting without evidence that such a practice opened the door for widespread fraud. Only days ago, the president tweeted the election will be "totally rigged" if mail-in voting is allowed.
"The 2020 Election will be totally rigged if Mail-In Voting is allowed to take place, & everyone knows it," Mr. Trump tweeted last week. "So much time is taken talking about foreign influence, but the same people won't even discuss Mail-In election corruption. Look at Patterson, N.J. 20% of vote was corrupted!"
The president's own voter fraud commission, which disbanded in 2018, found no evidence to support claims of widespread voter fraud.
A record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail in 2020, given the coronavirus pandemic that continues to plague the nation. Mr. Trump is trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in most credible polls.