GOP Chair: Democrats' Mail-In Plan a 'Way To Undermine Democracy'
As Democrats from 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to presumptive 2020 nominee Joe Biden call for overhauling America’s system of elections and instituting voting by mail amid the coronavirus outbreak, Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said this needs to be seen as Democrats “plotting their next attempt to use the pandemic for political gain.”
If Democrats had their way, Americans would “throw election integrity to the wayside in favor of an all-mail election, fundamentally changing how Americans vote in eight months,” she wrote in an Op-Ed on Fox News.
“The overhaul would vastly expand opportunities for fraud and weaken confidence in our elections, but all Washington Democrats see is a potential benefit for their party,” McDaniel wrote.
Weeks ago, Clinton was advocating voting by mail, claiming it was required by efforts to deal with the coronavirus.
Congress needs to act to make voting by mail the norm going forward, with the specifics outlined by election expert Marc Elias below to make it accessible for all. https://t.co/K2TlHIJx2d
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 18, 2020
Last week, Biden joined the parade of Democrats embracing the concept.
WATCH: “We should be looking to all mail ballots across the board,” says former VP @JoeBiden. #MTP #IfItsSunday
Biden: “Whether or not that is required across the board in all 50 states and territories, I am not sure. But we should be beginning to plan that.” pic.twitter.com/bcmIacg3aI
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 29, 2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that “$4 billion is probably what would really democratize our whole system” by converting to a vote-by-mail system and making other changes.
“Pardon those of us who thought we already had democratic elections,” McDaniel wrote, poking holes in the Pelosi plan.
“If it were about safety,” she wrote, “why does Pelosi call for mandatory early voting in all states, forcing polls to be open ‘no less than 10 hours’ every day for over two weeks before Election Day?
“Why do Democrats encourage public transportation use, which can increase exposure to viruses, by mandating polling places be within walking distance of a bus stop or metro?
“And why do Democrats want paid campaign operatives going door to door, collecting mountains of ballots?
“So much for social distancing.”
From California Gov. Gavin Newsom to House Majority Whip James Clyburn, Democrats have said they want to use the fight against the virus to reshape America in their liberal image.
“Democrats see the pandemic, as Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said, as ‘a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision,'” McDaniel wrote.
She noted that Democrats have already been accused of using what is called ballot harvesting to win elections. Ballot harvesting takes place when one person brings in a haul of absentee ballots, often with the voters never having that least idea for whom they supposedly voted.
“The Democrats’ all-mail ballots proposal is a ruse to legalize ballot harvesting nationwide,” McDaniel wrote.
She also pointed out that voter registration rolls are notoriously inaccurate.
“Mail-in voting increases the opportunity for fraud,” the GOP chairwoman wrote, noting a 2012 report in The New York Times that concluded “fraud is easier by mail.”
Adding to that checkered history is the potential of trying to revamp the election process on deadline for the November elections.
McDaniel noted that in New Jersey, officials left 172,000 voters off the list of who was able to get a ballot.
“Imagine the chaos of overhauling election systems in all 50 states in eight months,” she wrote.
President Donald Trump has said he opposes a mass switch to voting by mail.
“The Republican Party will always defend free and fair elections, especially in times like these,” McDaniel wrote. “That is why we will continue to fight and win against attempts by Democrats to use the pandemic as an excuse to circumvent election integrity.
“We are all in this fight together. We will get through it. But we will not throw out our most elementary promises of democracy, because agenda-driven Democrats do not want to let a pandemic go to waste.
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