Associated Press
Republican activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump have crafted a plan that, in their telling, will thwart cheating in this year’s midterm elections.
The strategy: Vote in person on Election Day or — for voters who receive a mailed ballot — hold onto it and hand it in at a polling place or election office on Nov. 8.
The plan is based on unfounded conspiracy theories that fraudsters will manipulate voting systems to rig results for Democrats once they have seen how many Republican votes have been returned early. There has been no evidence of any such widespread fraud.
If enough voters are dissuaded from casting ballots early, it could lead to long lines on Election Day and would push back processing of those late-arriving mailed ballots. Those ballots likely would not get counted until the next day or later.
“It just slows everything down,” said Noah Praetz, the former election clerk in Cook County, Illinois, who now advises local election offices on best practices and security. “In many places, if you don’t get mail ballots in hand until Election Day, you are not counting them until after Election Day.”
There is no evidence of widespread fraud, cheating or manipulation of voting machines in the 2020 election. Exhaustive reviews in the states disputed by Trump upheld Democrat Joe Biden’s win, and legal challenges pursued by the former president and his allies were rejected by numerous judges, including ones appointed by Republicans.
That hasn’t stopped conspiracy theories that have spread over the last two years, fueled by Trump, allies including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and a crop of Republican candidates seeking office this year. The calls to hold onto ballots until the last minute have grown louder in recent weeks, according to a review of social media accounts by The Associated Press.
“It’s a lot easier to catch any fraud,” Lindell, who has promoted the last-minute voting strategy on podcasts, told the AP in a recent interview. Lindell, through various events, has sought to prove that voting machines were manipulated to favor Biden in 2020.
Trump also has weighed in, saying at a recent rally that voting on Election Day was best because “it’s much harder for them to cheat that way.”
The strategy push by conservatives comes after the use of mailed ballots soared during the 2020 election amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of pandemic restrictions, Trump’s attacks on mailed ballots and new voting restrictions in some Republican-led states has led to a decline in the use of mailed ballots this year, but it still remains a popular option for many voters.
Experts say a last-minute crush of ballots could end up creating delays that can be used by a bad actor to undermine confidence in the election.
“It’s an opening for people to begin questioning and stoking mistrust and distrust,” said Chris Piper, former commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections.
Discouraging early voting and encouraging voters to hold onto their mailed ballots until Election Day runs counter to efforts by most campaigns. Republican and Democratic candidates alike typically want to have as many ballots in hand as possible heading into Election Day so they can focus their efforts on getting stragglers to the polls and persuading undecided voters.
The dueling approaches have resulted in a confusing array of messages for Republican voters.
In Georgia, a recent online flier by one grassroots group read: “Voting in person and on Election Day is the only way to overwhelm the system.” A conservative group in the state, VoterGA, told its members to “protect” their votes by applying for an absentee ballot early and waiting to deliver it until Election Day.
The chair of the state Republican Party, David Shafer, recently tweeted on the party’s official account: “Voting in-person early is just as safe as voting in-person on Election Day!”
The cross-messaging also is hitting Republican voters in Arizona, which has high-stakes races this year for U.S. Senate, governor and secretary of state. Mail voting has been popular there among voters of both parties for years.
State Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican who backed a partisan review of 2020 ballots in Maricopa County, told viewers of One America News Network earlier this month that “we need to vote on the last day, the day of Election Day, so they don’t know how much to cheat by.”
But her party’s top candidates — who also have embraced false claims about the 2020 election — have recently tried to counter that strategy.
“If you have a mail-in ballot, I think that you should mail it in. I want people to vote,” Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor, told reporters this month. “And vote whatever way you want to vote, but vote.”
Lake has been among those calling for a rollback in mailed ballots and early voting, favoring instead a single day of in-person voting. Blake Masters, the Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona who also has Trump’s support, said it’s fine to vote by mail if that’s what a voter prefers.
“I want to know results on election night,” Masters told reporters earlier this month. “I’m telling people vote in person, if you can. If not, vote early and return via mail. And let’s know the result.”
It’s unclear whether the messaging for Republicans to hold onto their mailed ballots is having an effect. In two politically important states, the return rate for mailed ballots is slower than in previous elections — although it also could mean voters there remain undecided.
In Georgia, about 23% of mailed ballots have been returned with just over two weeks before Election Day compared to about 35% at about the same time in 2020 and almost 37% in 2018. As of Oct. 19 in Wisconsin, 45% of mailed ballots had been returned compared to 56% in at the same point 2020 and 2018.
Some Democrats also have advocated submitting ballots at the last minute — but based more on a political strategy than claims of fraud.
Pam Keith, an attorney, Democratic activist and former congressional candidate in Florida, said she thinks the predictability that Democrats will vote by mail gives Republicans an early hint at turnout levels. That’s why she is advocating for a surge of ballots at the last minute, catching Republicans off guard.
“By voting early, we are showing our hand,” Keith said. “We show what our turnout number is going to be. And if they know that the overwhelming majority of vote-by-mail ballots are in, then they know what they need to do to win.”
Keith’s advice strayed from that of many Democratic candidates, who have encouraged their supporters to vote early and by mail.
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Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
20 comments
Karen
October 22, 2022 at 11:17 am
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You can early vote then look at your personal information on the Supervisor of Elections website & it will tell you that your vote has been counted!
Denise Lasher
October 22, 2022 at 11:40 am
This headline doesn’t account for the below comment from a Democrat operative. Also, by surrendering your ballot at the polling site and voting in person that doesn’t slow down the counting process.
Pam Keith, an attorney, Democratic activist and former congressional candidate in Florida, said she thinks the predictability that Democrats will vote by mail gives Republicans an early hint at turnout levels. That’s why she is advocating for a surge of ballots at the last minute, catching Republicans off guard.
“By voting early, we are showing our hand,” Keith said. “We show what our turnout number is going to be. And if they know that the overwhelming majority of vote-by-mail ballots are in, then they know what they need to do to win.”
Michael Hoffmann
October 23, 2022 at 4:38 pm
“Also, by surrendering your ballot at the polling site and voting in person that doesn’t slow down the counting process.””
Perhaps, but isn’t this scheme intended to jam up the polling places? This will slow the process overall, create chaos, and feed into the narrative of election-stealing.
Joe Corsin
October 22, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Just pump out the right wing conspiracy theories you idiots. Have the GOP swirling the toilet even faster. Never before in human history has a political party seen such a meltdown. Vote BLUE to send this vicious far right party into the ash heap of history.
Impeach Biden
October 22, 2022 at 1:11 pm
There is simply no way in hell that Joe “hiding in the basement” Biden generated more excitement among the voters than did Obama. Very active voter harvesting by the Democrats in 2020.
Joe Corsin
October 22, 2022 at 1:50 pm
Trump was just that repulsive. Your biases prevent you from understanding the situation and the world around you. Seek help for your mental health issues… distorted thought process etc.
Ocean Joe
October 22, 2022 at 2:35 pm
You refuse to look at the data.
First, far more people voted in the 2020 election than prior years, and that includes for Trump.
Second, nobody was excited about voting for a politician recycled from the 1980’s but he was the alternative to Trump.
Here are some numbers for you:
2008: 229M eligible voters, 57% voted.
2012: 235M eligible voters, 53% voted.
2016: 249M eligible voters, 54% voted.
2020: 257M eligible voters, 62% voted.
The population of eligible voters is not static, and Mr. Trump has been the greatest driver of voting (pro and con) in memory.
Impeach Biden
October 22, 2022 at 9:38 pm
Turn on the news. Most people in this country couldn’t name the President and certainly the Vice. You don’t l8ke Trump and I get it. No way 81 million people were motivated to vote in that last election unless there were some voter harvester hustlers involved.
Bill
October 24, 2022 at 8:15 am
Many people, myself included, voted against trump and not for biden per sei. Nobody did it enthusiastically and I really hope he doesn’t run again but it got rid of trump at least. There is no conspiracy.
Ghengis Shwartz
October 22, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Abolish mail-in voting. Too much potential for fraud, which is why the Demtards are all for it.
Joe Corsin
October 22, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Tons of Republicans vote by mail especially older people. It would do more harm than good for the party. GOP is swirling the toilet with people like you flushing fast and furious. Thanks!
Leonard
October 24, 2022 at 9:48 am
Mail in voting is THE method of choice for Democrat vote harvesters. They have been doing this for years in urban areas. We should make Election Day a national holiday so everyone has the opportunity to vote. We should eliminate the use of touchscreens—paper ballots are the most secure method for voting. Finally–we should use a biometric id (either a finger print or eye scan) like many countries do to eliminate any questions of who is voting. Ds don’t care about the integrity of the election system—they care about harvesting votes from people who otherwise not vote. You know its true—so swirl that in your stupid toilet bowl.
Michael Hoffmann
October 23, 2022 at 4:40 pm
Florida Republicans loved it before they hated it. But, once Donald hated it, so did they. Except the actual voters continue to do it.
Mimi_Stardust
October 22, 2022 at 2:50 pm
Unless something has changed, you can’t turn in your mail ballot at the polls on election day. They make you fill out a new one.
Michael Hoffmann
October 23, 2022 at 4:42 pm
Here’s the sabot for chaos, if true.
Tom
October 22, 2022 at 4:29 pm
Tom Legend here.
VOTE FOR VAL DEMINGS!!!
tom palmer
October 22, 2022 at 5:16 pm
It makes you wonder whether some factions in the GOP want to monkey wrench the election so they can complain afterwards that the system is broken.
Elliott Offen
October 22, 2022 at 6:39 pm
Exactly. The more chaos they can cause around elections…the more they can claim “irregularities.” Nevermind the fact that it’s their lies and stupid stunts that cause the irregularities. These right wingers are dirty rotten scoundrels and cheats…who will claim that it’s the other side cheating. No you people are losing elections and you feel entitled to win regardless if you don’t get the votes. They should start jailing these maniacs.
Impeach Biden
October 22, 2022 at 10:20 pm
Elliot. You are gonna get your ass handed to you and to Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and the rest of your Democrat wackos. November 8 will be a glorious day.
Jack Meoff
October 23, 2022 at 10:30 pm
“The plan is based on unfounded conspiracy theories that Joe Biden got 81 million votes.” FTFY
Comments are closed.