Sorry, Mr. President, Election Day Will Remain Nov. 3 - Rob Horowitz
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Sorry, Mr. President, Election Day Will Remain Nov. 3 - Rob Horowitz
Shortly after the news broke that the economy had contracted by nearly 10% in the second quarter, the president tweeted: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” he wrote in the message. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
The reaction was refreshingly negative across the board with even Republican elected officials and conservative media outlets pointedly rejecting the idea.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. We’ll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy expressed similar sentiments: “Never in the history of the federal elections have we not held an election, and we should go forward.”
The Wall Street Journal, whose conservative editorial board is usually supportive of the president, harshly criticized him: "If he believes that, he should reconsider his participation and let someone run who isn’t looking for an excuse to blame for defeat."
The National Review weighed in as well, calling the president’s trial balloon, “an incendiary and absurd idea unworthy of being spoken — or even thought — by a president of the United States.”
The plain facts are that study after study shows that while there is a bit more fraud when people vote by mail, it is still infinitesimal. A recent Stanford University study of states that conduct their elections all by mail ballot also demonstrates it doesn’t provide an advantage to Democratic candidates. The major findings:” (1) vote-by-mail does not appear to affect either party’s share of turnout; (2) vote-by-mail does not appear to increase either party’s vote share; and (3) vote-by-mail modestly increases overall average turnout rates, in line with previous estimates.”
The likely increase in the number of people who will vote by mail in states unused to handling the volume, however, does create challenges in counting the vote in a timely manner. But instead of working to help ease this situation, the president is making it worse by doing away with overtime at the post office and refusing to support the budgetary infusion that it needs.
President Trump’s made similar baseless claims that the 2016 election would be rigged against him and winning did not cure him. Upset that he lost the popular vote, he claimed with no evidence that 3 to 4 million illegal immigrants voted for Hillary, so he was the real popular vote winner. He then formed a voter fraud commission, which had to disband because there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
As he grows more worried that he is going to lose, President Trump is returning to this old playbook, creating an excuse for defeat. He has no power to change the election date; that is in the hands of Congress. But as president his use of the bully pulpit to sow doubts about the legitimacy of our elections and at the margins, his power to gum up the election works, make his comments all the more irresponsible and potentially damaging.
That is what made the across the board strong push back to his trial balloon on postpone the election so welcome and necessary.
Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, businesses, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.