2020 General Election Delay…?

Let’s talk about this: 

With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020

Will the long awaited 2020 general election be postponed? 

Luckily, the president alone does not have the power to make this decision. Also, tweeting about it is less than official — just classically controversial and concerning. What’s new? 

The decision for a postponement would have to go through Congress first, and since the Democrats currently control the House, it’s definitely unlikely. 

Still, why fear mail-in ballots? About half the states in the country already allow registered voters to cast their votes via mail upon request. Would it really be so bad if mail-in ballots became the primary voting procedure during a pandemic? 

Apparent in his tweet, Trump fears mass fraud. Yet, he offers no evidence to support his claim. Of course, delays with New York’s primary elections earlier this summer sparked concern and Trump does mention this in earlier tweets. 

New York Mail-In voting is in a disastrous state of condition. Votes from many weeks ago are missing – a total mess. They have no idea what is going on. Rigged Election. I told you so. Same thing would happen, but on massive scale, with USA. Fake News refuses to report!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020

While the New York absentee ballot process does need some serious reform, there were no reported problems with fraud. Furthermore, back to the first tweet, what even is the exact difference between an absentee ballot and a mail-in ballot? Both use the postal service in the same way. 

An absentee ballot is a ballot filled out by a voter who cannot make it to a voting location of Election Day.

A mail-in ballot is used more broadly to refer to ballots sent through mail. 

Essentially, absentee ballots are used in states where physically going to the polls is still the main procedure. Prior to COVID-19 though, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington conducted elections by mail-in ballots with no issue. 

Trump’s real problem with mail-in ballots likely has more to do with his fear of losing, than a fear of fraud. Mail-in ballots have the potential to reach more voters, as long as you register. 

Do you think the proposed postponement comes out of a fear of fraud or fear of losing? Let us know in the poll below!