Trump Again Suggests North Carolinians Try To Vote Twice—Which Is A Felony

TOPLINE

President Donald Trump told supporters in battleground state North Carolina to head to their polling place and vote after mailing their ballots—a felony, if someone succeeds in doing it—advice he had previously walked-back, after warnings from state election officials.

KEY FACTS

Key Background

Efforts to expand mail-in voting have greatly increased in recent months, with officials worried that gathering at polling places could exacerbate the coronavirus pandemic. More voters than any time in U.S. history are eligible to vote by mail in the upcoming election, 76%, according to the New York Times. Nine states have proactively sent ballots to registered voters, though North Carolina isn’t one of them.

Tangent

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law last week that allows the state’s election officials to begin counting mail-in ballots 10 days before Election Day instead of on Election Day. The move is meant to help officials deal with the expected surge of mail-in ballots. Last month Murphy signed an executive order that would guarantee each of New Jersey’s 6.2 million registered voters would automatically get a ballot in the mail. The order also calls for hundreds of secure ballot drop-boxes to be installed in every county in the state 45 days before the election.

Crucial Quote

Attorney General William Barr has consistently echoed Trump’s stance on mail-in voting calling the practice “is very open to fraud and coercion, is reckless and dangerous,” during a CNN interview this week.

Further Reading

Trump again suggests voting in person after mailing a ballot, calling system untrustworthy (Washington Post)

Trump Encourages North Carolina Residents To Illegally Vote Twice As He Continues To Attack Mail-In Ballots (Forbes)

North Carolina Warns Against Voting Twice After Trump Urged Supporters To Do Otherwise (Forbes)