Amidst evolving strategies and a push for increased voter participation, President Donald Trump's unexpected embrace of early voting, mail-in ballots, and absentee voting signals a significant shift in Republican tactics ahead of upcoming elections.
Top Points
Trump's Reversal: President Donald Trump announced the Swamp The Vote USA initiative and Trump Force 47, officially endorses early voting, mail-in ballots, and absentee voting, marking a significant departure from his prior criticism and skepticism of these methods.
Strategic Shift: Trump emphasizes the importance of overwhelming Democratic turnout and aims to "swamp" his opponents with votes, signaling a strategic shift in Republican tactics to compete effectively in upcoming elections.
Republican Adaptation: The embrace of non-traditional voting methods reflects a broader Republican strategy to counter Democratic advantages, as prominent figures like Donald Trump Jr. and Kellyanne Conway advocate for early voting as a necessary adaptation in the political landscape.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump officially endorsed early voting, mail-in ballots, and absentee voting, marking a significant shift from his previous criticism and skepticism of these methods.
These non-traditional voting methods are part of the Swamp The Vote USA initiative, promoted by Trump Force 47, a grassroots organizing program sponsored by the Republican National Committee. "Republicans must win, and we will use every appropriate tool to beat the Democrats because they are destroying our country," Trump said in a statement. "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."
Trump emphasized the importance of overwhelming Democratic turnout: "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."
Trump Force 47 aims to use "personalized voter contacts to generate new absentee or mail ballot registrations and early in-person voting commitments," according to a campaign statement.
Despite previously calling mail-in voting "totally corrupt" during the 2020 election and as recently as a February rally in Michigan, Trump reversed his stance in April, posting on Truth Social that “ABSENTEE VOTING, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING ARE ALL GOOD OPTIONS. REPUBLICANS MUST MAKE A PLAN, REGISTER, AND VOTE!”
Trump's initial distrust of non-in-person voting methods was fueled by President Biden's late gains in critical states in the 2020 election due to mail-in voting. According to a Pew Research Center poll, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in using absentee or mail-in ballots in that election, 58% to 32%.
The Republican shift towards supporting these voting methods had been developing for months as part of a strategy to defeat Biden. Donald Trump Jr. endorsed early voting in December 2022, emphasizing the need for Republicans to build the same "operation" as Democrats to compete in November. "That’s the one thing they’re good at, folks. They figure out where they need to be, how they win...and they will run over anything in their way," he said at the Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference.
Similarly, Trump’s former senior adviser Kellyanne Conway expressed support for early voting in May. "I don’t like early voting, but if this is the new normal, you adapt or you die politically," she said on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
This endorsement of non-traditional voting methods aligns with Trump’s campaign message of urging supporters to turn out in large numbers on Election Day to make the results "too big to rig."
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