US president Donald Trump is for the first time floating a “delay” to the 3 November presidential election, as he makes unsubstantiated allegations that increased mail-in voting will result in fraud.
In a tweet Thursday morning, Trump repeated false criticisms that vote-by-mail is rife with fraud, saying that the election should be delayed “until people can properly, securely and safely vote.” Trump’s tweet came minutes after the Commerce Department reported the economy shrank at a record 32.9% pace in the second quarter and Labor Department figures showed increasing numbers of Americans claiming state unemployment benefits.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting, even in states with all-mail votes. Five states already rely exclusively on mail-in ballots, and they say they have necessary safeguards in place to ensure that a hostile foreign actor doesn’t disrupt the vote. Trump trails Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 8 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls, as well as in averages of polls in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Last month, Trump told supporters in Arizona that “This will be, in my opinion, the most corrupt election in the history of our country.”
Just months ago, in April, Trump had ruled out the prospect of trying to change the election. “I never even thought of changing the date of the election,” he said. “Why would I do that? November 3rd. It’s a good number. No, I look forward to that election.”
