WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that perhaps the United States would need to “delay the election” on November 3, claiming that mail-in voting would make this fall’s election “the most inaccurate and fraudulent in history.”
Trump has no power to unilaterally delay elections, which are set for the first Tuesday in November through a 19th century law passed by Congress.
As states grapple with how to let citizens vote safely during the coronavirus pandemic, many have turned to mail-in voting as a potential solution that allows people to cast their ballots without waiting in long lines at potentially crowded polling places.
But Republicans, led by Trump, have strongly objected to expanding access to mail-in ballots, claiming without evidence that voting by mail invites voter fraud. Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee are spending tens of millions of dollars this year on lawsuits to challenge state efforts to expand access to mail-in ballots.
