President Trump's relentless attacks on the security of mail voting are driving suspicion among GOP voters toward absentee ballots — a dynamic alarming Republican strategists, who say it could undercut their own candidates, including Trump himself.
In several primaries this spring, Democratic voters have embraced mail ballots in far larger numbers than Republicans during a campaign season defined by the coronavirus pandemic. And when they urge their supporters to vote by mail, GOP campaigns around the country are hearing from more and more Republican voters who say they do not trust absentee ballots, according to multiple strategists. In one particularly vivid example, a group of Michigan voters held a public burning of their absentee ballot applications last month.
"It does reduce the likelihood of Republicans embracing this process," said a senior GOP strategist. "Especially for older, more rural voters, that could be important for Republicans getting out the vote in 2020. I don't want 'I will not vote by mail' to become a political statement. But it may be too late."
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll in late May, a sharp partisan divide has emerged over whether to make it easier for people to cast an absentee ballot, with 87 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of Republicans saying it should be easier.
Last month, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) posted a simple message for her Facebook followers, exhorting them to vote in the next day's primary and offering a link with "information on how to return your absentee ballot," a process Iowa made easier to reduce the risks of coronavirus infection.
Not everyone welcomed the suggestion. "I will be voting, in person, for you," wrote one supporter. "Senator, I can't believe you'd support absentee ballots," wrote another. "We need in-person voting with ID or no voting at all."
Other Republicans officials are encountering similar pushback.
In perhaps the most dramatic sign of Republican skepticism about mail balloting, the campaign of one Republican senator seeking reelection this year recently sent a text urging roughly 100,000 to apply for absentee ballots — and received hundreds of negative replies, according to a person familiar with the responses.
One text said: "No thank you. I'll vote in person." Another said: "Absentee ballot? Nah. I'll be there in person. No one should legitimize this mail in voting hogwash."
In Michigan, where Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) decided to mail a ballot request form to every voter in the state, many Republicans have reacted negatively.
"I don't want you sending a ballot application with my name on it to somebody else who could do something bad with it, and then I show up on Election Day, and I'm not allowed to vote," said Joel Freeman, the chairman of the Kent County Republican Party in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Trump regularly rants about voter fraud and mail ballots in the Oval Office, this official said — and will continue to do so until Election Day because "one, he truly believes it, and two, it gives him an out if he loses."
In several primaries this spring, Democratic voters have embraced mail ballots in far larger numbers than Republicans during a campaign season defined by the coronavirus pandemic. And when they urge their supporters to vote by mail, GOP campaigns around the country are hearing from more and more Republican voters who say they do not trust absentee ballots, according to multiple strategists. In one particularly vivid example, a group of Michigan voters held a public burning of their absentee ballot applications last month.
"It does reduce the likelihood of Republicans embracing this process," said a senior GOP strategist. "Especially for older, more rural voters, that could be important for Republicans getting out the vote in 2020. I don't want 'I will not vote by mail' to become a political statement. But it may be too late."
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll in late May, a sharp partisan divide has emerged over whether to make it easier for people to cast an absentee ballot, with 87 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of Republicans saying it should be easier.
Last month, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) posted a simple message for her Facebook followers, exhorting them to vote in the next day's primary and offering a link with "information on how to return your absentee ballot," a process Iowa made easier to reduce the risks of coronavirus infection.
Not everyone welcomed the suggestion. "I will be voting, in person, for you," wrote one supporter. "Senator, I can't believe you'd support absentee ballots," wrote another. "We need in-person voting with ID or no voting at all."
Other Republicans officials are encountering similar pushback.
In perhaps the most dramatic sign of Republican skepticism about mail balloting, the campaign of one Republican senator seeking reelection this year recently sent a text urging roughly 100,000 to apply for absentee ballots — and received hundreds of negative replies, according to a person familiar with the responses.
One text said: "No thank you. I'll vote in person." Another said: "Absentee ballot? Nah. I'll be there in person. No one should legitimize this mail in voting hogwash."
In Michigan, where Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) decided to mail a ballot request form to every voter in the state, many Republicans have reacted negatively.
"I don't want you sending a ballot application with my name on it to somebody else who could do something bad with it, and then I show up on Election Day, and I'm not allowed to vote," said Joel Freeman, the chairman of the Kent County Republican Party in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Trump regularly rants about voter fraud and mail ballots in the Oval Office, this official said — and will continue to do so until Election Day because "one, he truly believes it, and two, it gives him an out if he loses."
