Former President Donald Trump has announced a new “Swamp the Vote” initiative, which encourages Republicans to turn out to vote early, or with absentee ballots by mail if they are unable to vote on election day, to ensure that as many Republicans as possible vote.
“Republicans must win and we will use every appropriate tool to beat the Democrats because they are destroying our country. Whether you vote absentee, by mail, early in person or on election day, we are going to protect the vote. We make sure your ballot is secure and your voice is heard. We must swamp the radical Democrats with massive turnout. The way to win is to swamp them, if we swamp them with votes they can’t cheat. You need to make a plan, register, and vote any way possible. We have got to get your vote,” said President Trump.
The new initiative comes as an attempt to encourage greater voter turnout from Republicans.
Some conservatives have theorized that if Trump’s margin of victory in November is large enough, then the impact of potential voter fraud will be negated.
The Swamp the Vote website provides resources for Trump supporters to request mail-in absentee ballots, check on their voter registration details to ensure that they are registered, and encourages people to take pledges to vote in person either early or on Election Day.
Mainstream media outlets, including Fox News, are reporting on Trump’s new announcement as a dramatic shift in his position on mail-in voting, and suggesting that he is inconsistent in his messaging on the issue.
Historically, Trump has opposed the practice of mail-in voting, arguing that it has been used by Democrats to commit voter fraud by allowing them to easily insert extra ballots,
The former president has also attributed President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 to voter fraud committed in large part with mail-in ballots.
While announcing “Swamp the Vote” Trump doubled down on his opposition to mail-in voting, and promised that, if he is elected, he will move the U.S. towards in-person Election Day voting only in an attempt to stop future fraud.
“I will once and for all secure our elections, we’re going to go to paper ballots, we’re going to have same day voting, voter Id. We’re going to do it properly, we’re going to have good, secure, beautiful elections. We never want what happened in 2020 to happen again, but until then, Republicans must win,” said Trump.
Although Trump hopes to ultimately abolish mail-in voting, his new initiative is a pragmatic attempt to convince supporters to use the mail-in system which is already in place, so that all available, legal tools are employed to defeat Biden.
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Mail-in and early voting have, in Maine and other states, traditionally been dominated by Democrats.
