If Donald Trump gets his way, the 2020 US election will be a total mess. Voters will encounter long lines at the polls and struggle getting ballots through the mail. Ideally, of course, these voters will be Democrats.
If Trump loses reelection in November, any whiff of problems will allow him to question the legitimacy of the results. He has even held up the spectre of chaos to call for delaying the Nov. 3 election.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” he tweeted on July 30. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
These problems are not inevitable. They are being encouraged by Trump, who has done all he can to make it harder for people to vote during the coronavirus pandemic. He has baselessly claimed that mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and abuse (it isn’t) and admitted to depriving the postal service of funds in order to make it harder for people to vote by mail.
In a recent Fox News interview, Trump said that if they didn’t get the billions that Democrats are requesting to help the post office stay afloat, “that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because you they’re not equipped to have it.”
The $25 billion that Democrats wanted to provide the post office was not exclusively for mail-in voting.
Trump and his allies have been laying the groundwork to question the legitimacy of the November election results for months, raising the troubling question of what will happen if the election doesn’t go the president’s way. Trump may act like every other president and step aside graciously ― but he certainly seems to be leaving the door open to something more sinister.
“Is the president saying if he doesn’t win this election that he will not accept the results unless he wins?” a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday.
“The President has always said he’ll see what happens and make a determination in the aftermath,” she replied.
Former president Barack Obama warned voters on Wednesday that nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake in November.
“[T]his president and those in power — those who benefit from keeping things the way they are — they are counting on your cynicism,” he said in his speech at the Democratic National Convention. “They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. ... This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win.”
A look at the comments Trump has made undermining whatever happens in November.
“It will end up being a rigged election or they will never come out with an outcome. They’ll have to do it again, and nobody wants that.” [8/18/20]
“[I]f we are waiting for one state [to count the votes] and it is a very great, important state, big state ― if we are waiting for that state, you don’t know what the answer is going to be until after maybe seven days. But it’s not going to be seven days. It’s going to be months or years.” [8/5/20]
“In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!” [8/3/20]
“Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting (not Absentee Voting, which I totally support!).” [7/30/20]
“Must know Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years later!” [7/30/20]
“Mail-In Voting is already proving to be a catastrophic disaster. Even testing areas are way off. The Dems talk of foreign influence in voting, but they know that Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter the race. Even beyond that, there’s no accurate count!” [7/30/20]
“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???” [7/30/20]
“New York Mail-In voting is in a disastrous state of condition. Votes from many weeks ago are missing - a total mess. They have no idea what is going on. Rigged Election. I told you so. Same thing would happen, but on massive scale, with USA. Fake News refuses to report!” [7/29/20]
“The 2020 Election will be totally rigged if Mail-In Voting is allowed to take place, & everyone knows it. 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!” [7/26/20]
“Mail-In Ballot fraud found in many elections. People are just now seeing how bad, dishonest and slow it is. Election results could be delayed for months. No more big election night answers? 1% not even counted in 2016. Ridiculous! Just a formula for RIGGING an Election.... ....Absentee Ballots are fine because you have to go through a precise process to get your voting privilege. Not so with Mail-Ins. Rigged Election!!! 20% fraudulent ballots?” [7/10/20]
“Mail-In Ballots will lead to massive electoral fraud and a rigged 2020 Election. Look at all of the cases and examples that are out there right now, with the Patterson, N.J., being the most recent example. Republicans, in particular, cannot let this happen!” [7/2/20]
“If people can go out and protest, riot, break into stores, and create all sorts of havoc, they can also go out and VOTE — and keep our Election Honest. With millions of mail-in ballots being sent out, who knows where they are going, and to whom?” [6/22/20]
“Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history - unless this stupidity is ended. We voted during World War One & World War Two with no problem, but now they are using Covid in order to cheat by using Mail-Ins!” [6/22/20]
“RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!” [6/22/20]
“MAIL-IN VOTING WILL LEAD TO MASSIVE FRAUD AND ABUSE. IT WILL ALSO LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY. WE CAN NEVER LET THIS TRAGEDY BEFALL OUR NATION. BIG MAIL-IN VICTORY IN TEXAS COURT TODAY. CONGRATS!!!” [5/28/20]
“So ridiculous to see Twitter trying to make the case that Mail-In Ballots are not subject to FRAUD. How stupid, there are examples, & cases, all over the place. Our election process will become badly tainted & a laughingstock all over the World. Tell that to your hater @yoyoel” [5/28/20]
“Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election. If that happens, we no longer have our freedom. I will never let it happen! They tried hard in 2016, and lost. Now they are going absolutely CRAZY. Stay Tuned!!!” [5/27/20]
“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that........happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots.” [5/27/20]
“There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone.....” [5/26/20]
“. @Twitter is now interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election. They are saying my statement on Mail-In Ballots, which will lead to massive corruption and fraud, is incorrect, based on fact-checking by Fake News CNN and the Amazon Washington Post....” [5/26/20]
“The Democrats are trying to Rig the 2020 Election, plain and simple!” [5/24/20]
“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!” [5/24/20]
“Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can’t get to the polls on Election Day. These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is “RIPE for FRAUD,” and shouldn’t be allowed!” [4/8/20]