President Trump threatened to withhold funding from Michigan after he alleged that the state sent absentee ballots to all registered voters.
“Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election,” the president tweeted Wednesday morning. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”
Trump, in a subsequent tweet, tagged acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and the Treasury Department.
Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020
The president also threatened to withhold funding from Nevada if the state sends “out illegal vote by mail ballots.”
“If they do, ‘I think’ I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections,” he tweeted.
State of Nevada “thinks” that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can’t! If they do, “I think” I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020
A day earlier, Michigan’s secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, announced that the state will be sending applications for absentee ballots to all 7.7 million of the state’s registered voters. The president was incorrect in stating that the absentee ballots themselves were sent to voters.
“By mailing applications, we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Benson said. “We know from the elections that took place this month that during the pandemic Michiganders want to safely vote.”
The president has frequently denounced the expansion of absentee ballot initiatives despite fears it could put people at risk for contracting the
coronavirus, citing claims that it’s easier for voter fraud to occur. Last month, he encouraged his party to fight “very hard” to prevent statewide mail-in voting, claiming it does not “work out well for Republicans.” His campaign also said, “Under the guise of responding to the coronavirus crisis, Democrats have attempted to enshrine into law practices that are ripe for fraudulent voting.”
A Heritage Foundation study from last year found over 1,000 documented cases of voter fraud that yielded over 900 convictions in 47 states.
