Trump Continues to Cast Doubt on Mail-In Voting as Midterms Approach

Former President Donald Trump continues to express unfounded doubts about the integrity of mail-in voting while simultaneously encouraging Republicans to use the method ahead of the midterm elections. His remarks come as he met with Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted on state charges for a scheme to breach the state’s voting systems in pursuit of evidence of election fraud.

Peters was granted clemency by Colorado Governor Jared Polis earlier this year and released from prison in June, following repeated calls from Trump urging the state to release her.

During a press gaggle on the White House South Lawn before traveling to a political rally in Nebraska, Trump was questioned about his seemingly contradictory messaging. "No, vote by mail or vote in person. I'd rather have a vote in person. But they can vote by mail if they want, because we seem to have no choice," Trump stated. He then reiterated his claims of widespread fraud, asserting, "What we're concerned about is there seems to be a lot of- not seems to be, there is a lot of cheating in vote by mail."

Trump has previously promoted mail-in voting for Republicans, including in a social media video on October 3rd, where he stated, "Vote early, vote by mail or vote in person on Election Day, November 3rd, so we can defeat the radical left Dumocrats in a midterm victory that is too big to rig."

His own voting record includes casting mail-in ballots twice in Florida elections this year, and he has also voted early in past elections. However, his administration has been involved in legal challenges concerning mail-in ballot rules. Last month, his administration filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to implement new U.S. Postal Service mail ballot rules for the upcoming elections. The Supreme Court rejected this appeal, allowing states to proceed with sending out mail-in ballots as planned.

Trump seized on an incident in Maricopa County, Arizona, where officials reported that a contractor had accidentally mailed 3,126 early ballots six days before they were scheduled to be sent. The Maricopa County Recorder's Office stated that no voters were adversely affected and that, after consultation with the county attorney's office, the ballots were deemed valid and did not require reissuance. Responding to a reporter's question about the incident, Trump said the country should "be ashamed of themselves" and called Maricopa County "a very, very dishonest county."