Republicans have suddenly started praising mail voting, following a campaign by Donald Trump that has been waging against it for several years. They did so on Tuesday when Georgia voters handed the Republican Party another large defeat in a disappointing election campaign. Certainly, the GOP’s comments about early voting and mail voting have something to do with their party’s disastrous performance in the Georgia runoff. In terms of whether Trump’s attacks on voting alternatives are responsible for the GOP’s losses? The situation could be clearer in that regard.
The Republican Party has suddenly embraced the virtues of mail voting after Donald Trump spent months campaigning against it.#DonaldTrump #MailVoting #Republicans #GOP #Republican #Trump2024 #Trump #MailinVoting pic.twitter.com/DvdU4Hmlbt
— News Live (@NewsLiveFree) December 9, 2022
On Tuesday, it was striking how frequently this topic was raised:
- Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, expressed concern over those in her party who discourage early voting and mail-in voting.
- During a speech earlier this year, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lamented that Republicans benefited from early voting and mail voting in the past but regretted the fact that these practices have since been discontinued.
- Additionally, Kellyanne Conway, a former White House adviser, and Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, appeared on Fox News to discuss the matter.
- Ingraham and Hannity both appeared on Fox News. His fellow host Laura Ingraham suggested that “everyone said, ‘Don’t vote early, it’s corrupt,'” after he wondered why Republicans no longer voted early and by mail. Ingraham replied, with a knowing smile, “many people did, at the top of the Republican Party.” When Conway argued it wasn’t everyone in the GOP, she said, “many people did.”
2020 Election Loss
McDaniel’s staff has claimed that her observations are not related to Trump. However, Ingraham’s remarks gave away the game. Though belatedly, people are beginning to recognize that attacks by Trump and his allies on these voting methods affect the Republican Party negatively. Due to Trump’s damaged political reputation – or perhaps due to their view of the situation as untenable – they are (sort of) saying that out loud.
Many expressed this opinion at once, suggesting that the party is seeking answers and perhaps some internal guidance has been issued. Although the RNC is technically correct in its assertion that Trump occasionally urges people to vote early, even by mail, this is not common practice. However, that information was buried behind extensive attacks on the enterprise, which he falsely attributed to the results of the 2020 election.
Source: Web
Sal Rizzo of The Washington Post reported that Trump attacked mail voting at least 100 times in the year before the 2020 election. Further, despite Trump’s limited attacks on mail voting, some of his allies have attacked early voting ballot drop boxes, and he has claimed that in-person voting only on Election Day can be relied upon. His false claims of a stolen election have continued to be based on that line of rhetoric.
Last week, he stated on social media that “MAIL-IN BALLOTS Can Never Ensure Fair & Free Elections.” In his campaign launch three weeks ago, he indicated that he would only advocate same-day voting as president. Republican politicians cannot have their cake and eat it too. Even though Trump sometimes encouraged people to vote this way, he repeatedly warned them against doing so.
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