Why Republicans Are So Afraid of Vote-by-Mail

[RandySF]

President Trump and his Republican allies are launching an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the deadly spread of Covid-19: the expanded use of mail-in ballots.

The scene Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote, after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party. Republican leaders said they were pushing ahead to fight state-level statutes that could expand absentee balloting in Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and elsewhere. In New Mexico, Republicans are battling an effort to go to a mail-in-only primary, and they vowed on Wednesday to fight a new move to expand postal balloting in Minnesota.

The new political effort is clearly aimed at helping the president’s re-election prospects, as well as bolstering Republicans running further down the ballot. While his advisers tend to see the issue in more nuanced terms, Mr. Trump obviously views the issue in a stark, partisan way: He has complained that under Democratic plans for national expansion of early voting and voting by mail, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”

At his daily news briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he believed vote-by-mail had been abused to hurt Republicans, and “I will not stand for it,” though he allowed that mail ballots could help some older voters — an important part of his voting base. It was a slight modulation that came at the urging of his advisers.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/republicans-vote-by-mail.html

[Cha]

1. KR!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. I always vote by mail.

I go to the Board of Elections Office, fill out a form, and get a ballot.

Without leaving, I complete the ballot, seal it, and return it to the desk. That way it doesn't "get lost in the mail" like all those ballots in Wisconsin. And BTW, my county is royal blue. No doubt my vote will be counted.

[kentuck]

3. What if they shut down the Post Office?

There would be no paper trail.

[jimfields33]

4. They seem to love it in Florida

I wish they didn’t. Lol.

[lark]

5. Repugs in FL have rigged vote by mail so it is now dangerous for older Democrats.

They used strict signature matching on all mailed in ballots and they rejected over a hundred thousand in the 2018 election, enough to have swayed the results. Voldemort did this to ensure his win but it will help repugs forever in this state. Anyone who signed a voting card years ago and whose handwriting has changed as a result get disqualified. They are supposed to send letters telling you this and letting you come in and verify your identity, but no one I talked to (and I called over 1000 people) had gotten this letter. They don't do it on early voting, and we still have that which is wonderful because no strict signature matches and you can vote at any precinct. If other states implement this software, they too would be fucked by mail ins.

No matter what happens, this will be a fight for our lives and we need to be prepared to go the extra distance to do what it takes to ensure our votes count.

[mitch96]

6. That's why Iworry about vote by mail. In theory its great

strict hand writing analysis and just flat out destroying the mail in ballots is too easy for these assholes. Remember we are the home of the "Hanging chad" debacle that helped Bush on the recount...


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[lark]

7. Exactly!

Repugs know that when there are no obstacles, Dem votes will overwhelm them, so they make sure, one way or another, that they disenfranchise us. That is their goal and mission in life - steal all elections by hook or crook and change our country into a fascist state with no rights or benefits for working class or poor people.

[hvn_nbr_2]

8. They can't make POC and poor people stand in line for six hours at a mailbox. nt