Donald Trump requests a mail-in ballot so he can vote in local Florida election despite railing against absentee voting during the 2020 presidential campaign
Former President Donald Trump requested a mail-in ballot so he could vote in a municipal election in Florida despite railing against absentee voting during the 2020 election cycle.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Trump had requested a mail-in ballot Friday, nearly a week late to have it mailed to Mar-a-Lago, and likely had an associate pick it up for him, which is allowed.
The election was held Tuesday, while Trump was in New York City.
Former President Donald Trump was in New York City on Tuesday, the date of the Florida municipal election that he requested an absentee ballot to vote in
Former President Donald Trump made Mar-a-Lago (pictured) his official residence in 2019 and also requested a mail-in ballot in August to vote in a primary election
Former President Donald Trump railed against mail-in voting except for in Florida, pointing to the state’s Republican governors and having the absentee option ‘over a long period of time’
The ex-president was spotted outside of Trump Tower with an aide carrying a large batch of files.
Trump’s ballot hadn’t been reported as counted on Monday, the Palm Beach Post said.
Former first lady Melania Trump did not request an absentee ballot for Tuesday’s election.
The Trumps moved to Mar-a-Lago on January 20, snubbing President Joe Biden’s inauguration, but made the Palm Beach private club their permanent residence in 2019.
Both Trumps had requested mail-in ballots in August for a Florida primary, which ‘covers all elections through the end of the calendar year’ – meaning they technically could have been sent general election mail-in ballots as well.
The then-president voted early in person at the Palm Beach County Library on October 24, while the then-first lady voted in Florida on Election Day.
By the time Trump made his August ballot requests he had spent months telling supporters that expansions to mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic would lead to widespresd voter fraud.
He’s continued repeating what Democrats have dubbed ‘the big lie’ as recently as at his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando in late February.
‘One of the most urgent issues facing the Republican Party is that of ensuring fair, honest and secure election,’ Trump told the CPAC crowd.
He called the 2020 election a ‘disgrace.’
‘We must pass comprehensive election reforms and we must do it now,’ he continued. ‘The Democrats used the China virus as an excuse to change all of the election rules without the approval of their state legislatures, making it therefore – illegal,’ Trump falsely claimed.
The president and his legal team failed when making similar arguments in court.
And in swing states like Pennsylvania, for example, both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers approved no-excuse mail-in voting in response to the pandemic.
Trump has explained his choice to vote by mail by pointing at Florida’s Republican governors.
‘So Florida’s got a great Republican governor and it had a great Republican governor [before] … and over a long period of time they’ve been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally,’ Trump said in August.
‘Florida’s different from other states,’ the then-president added.