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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGOP officials confront signs of Republican turnout crisis
Washngton PostPresident Trumps unfounded attacks on mail balloting are discouraging his own supporters from embracing the practice, according to polls and Republican leaders across the country, prompting growing alarm that one of the central strategies of his campaign is threatening GOP prospects in November.
Multiple public surveys show a growing divide between Democrats and Republicans about the security of voting by mail, with Republicans saying they are far less likely to trust it in November. In addition, party leaders in several states said they are encountering resistance among GOP voters who are being encouraged to vote absentee while also seeing the president describe mail voting as rigged and fraudulent.
As a result, state and local Republicans across the country fear they are falling dramatically behind in a practice that is expected to be key to voter turnout this year. Through mailers and Facebook ads, they are racing to promote absentee balloting among their own.
In the process, some Republican officials have tried to draw a distinction between absentee ballots, which Trump claims are secure, and mail ballots, which he has repeatedly attacked. The terms are typically used interchangeably.
underpants
(182,861 posts)at our grandfathers house. We did a really good job, my brother and I convinced ourselves and were scared to go upstairs where the closet was.
True Blue American
(17,988 posts)StClone
(11,686 posts)dubyadiprecession
(5,720 posts)Gothmog
(145,479 posts)Vote by mail has historically been a major focus of GOP GOTV. The Texas Democrats started to push vote by mail in 2012 in part to fight the GOP voter suppression/voter id law. Even though the GOP voter suppression law has been largely gutted, the Texas party is still pushing vote by mail and in my county we had a couple hundred more vote by mail ballots in 2018. trump is hurting this part of the GOP GOTV effort
bucolic_frolic
(43,249 posts)works for me
torius
(1,652 posts)in a big box.
Xolodno
(6,398 posts)And rallying against vote by mail would backfire!
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)Alger60
(8 posts)the president blathering on would suppress his own voters. Thoughts and prayers.
blaze
(6,367 posts)Welcome to DU!
Johnny2X2X
(19,095 posts)Trump is attacking mail in to try to make an excuse for when he loses, but that's not what his campaign needs.
It's one of those times when there is no real strategy to help the GOP, it's just Trump harming the party to sate his massive thirst to protect his fragile ego.