In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, there has been a strong push from Democrats and the left to immediately transition to mail-in ballots for the general election in November, ostensibly so Americans won’t be compelled to congregate in groups at polling locations across the country, potentially exposing themselves to the illness.
It seems unlikely that the virus will still be a major concern by November, and there is a legitimate concern that mail-in ballots are quite susceptible to fraud. As such, President Donald Trump made it abundantly clear on Friday that he was wholly opposed to the idea of transitioning to a mail-in only election and instead expressed his support for voter ID requirements, Breitbart reported.
Trump: Dems “intend to cheat”
It was near the end of the daily coronavirus task force briefing on Friday that President Trump was asked about the several states that have canceled or postponed primary elections due to the current public health crisis and whether he was considering any sort of delay for the general election in November.
Trump replied emphatically, “The general election will happen on November 3rd.”
A reporter then asked if “every state in this country should be prepared for mail-in voting in case we’re in a situation …”
The president cut the reporter off, however, and said, “No, because I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting. I think people should vote with ID — voter ID.”
“I think voter ID is very important. And the reason they don’t want voter ID is because they intend to cheat,” he added.
President calls for voter ID
Trump went on to note that Americans are required to present identification for so many different tasks on a daily basis and said that should also be true when it comes to casting a vote in an election.
“It shouldn’t be mail-in voting. It should be: You go to a booth and you proudly display yourself. You don’t send it in the mail where people pick up — all sorts of bad things can happen by the time they signed that, if they sign that — if they signed that by the time it gets in and is tabulated,” he said.
“No, it shouldn’t be mailed in. You should vote at the booth. And you should have voter ID, because when you have voter ID, that’s the real deal,” the president added.
Preserving election integrity
There is no question that President Trump — as well as everyone else who is even a little bit concerned about election integrity — stands opposed to the Democrats’ push for mail-in voting this November.
Not only did Trump rightly note that mail-in voting would be incredibly susceptible to fraud, he also correctly advocated for the opposite scenario. By encouraging in-person voting in which the presentation of a valid photo ID is required, the president simply called for a common-sense measure that would ensure that everyone’s vote is properly counted and that only those legally eligible to participate can do so.
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