Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s phony argument that voting by mail leads to voter fraud has been disproven over many elections and in multiple studies. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress Action Fund shows how this bogus claim is rooted in Republicans’ long-standing efforts to suppress votes.
“The real-world facts uniformly show that voting by mail is a safe and reliable option for Americans to exercise their constitutional right, which is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at CAP Action and author of the column. “Trump should stop peddling lies that are rooted in voter suppression efforts and instead support states’ bipartisan requests to fully fund vote by mail and early voting.”
Every state allows at least some voters to vote by mail, and five states—Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Hawaii—vote almost completely by mail. Studies have repeatedly shown that voter fraud is exceptionally rare. Notably, none of the five states that conduct their elections primarily by mail have had any voter fraud scandals since making that change.
Moreover, researchers have found that voting by mail does not meaningfully benefit either major political party. That’s why Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) decided to expand his state’s absentee mail-in ballot system this week. Republican governors in Nebraska and Ohio support it as well.
Unfortunately, Republican political leaders have often employed baseless claims of voter fraud as a smokescreen, giving them the cover they need to adopt strict voter ID laws and other suppressive measures that prevent Americans from casting ballots. These attempts to disenfranchise voters have no place in American democracy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the column: “Trump Continues To Spread Dangerous Falsehood That Voting by Mail Leads to Fraud,” by Michael Sozan.
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