Washington -- President Donald Trump suggested to his supporters on Friday night that should they vote by email they should also try to vote in person for a means to verify that their vote is counted, which risks causing chaos in the polls and undermining confidence in the election.
At a North Carolina"telerally" Friday night, which was posted on Facebook, Trump spent the first few minutes of this telephone describing in detail how he wanted his voters to vote. Should they vote by mail, they ought to go to their polling place anyway to"determine whether your mail-in vote was tabulated or counted," Trump said, noting that if it has been counted, then they won't have the ability to vote.
It is a federal crime to vote twice at exactly the same election, and it's also a felony in virtually every state, including North Carolina.
"When it hasn't been counted, vote -- that is every citizen's right to do -- you go and vote. You press on the lever and vote. So if it has not been counted, if it does not appear, go and vote, and then, if your mail-in ballot arrives after you vote, which it should not but possibly it may perhaps, that ballot won't be used or counted in your vote is already cast and tabulated, so this way you are certain to have your vote count," Trump said. Then see and then vote and let us see what happens. You are now assured, however, that your very precious and significant vote was counted."
The telephone ratchets up Trump's past insinuations that voters must cast ballots twice, which would be prohibited. Such attempts would most likely be ineffective but could serve to further sow confusion about the election, which has already been upended by the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented demand for mail-in voting.
In a indication of how broadly the President's message has been delivered, at least one voter in North Carolina discovered the telerally after picking up an unsolicited telephone call from an unknown number using a 704 area code.
The resident, who was a registered Republican for at least two decades until they switched to unaffiliated last year, told CNN they had been amazed to hear Trump's voice when they picked up their landline telephone before 7 p.m. ET Friday.
The individual, who didn't need to be identified, said they hadn't been expecting the call or for it to be over half an hour . The individual said that when the President started talking about absentee ballots, they thought maybe he was going to walk back his previous remarks, but that wasn't the case.
On Wednesday, Trump first suggested in North Carolina that Republicans cast their ballots twice to supposedly double-check that their first votes were counted.
"Well, they will go out and they will go vote, and they are going to have to go and check their vote by visiting the poll and voting that way, since if it tabulates then they won't be able to do that," Trump said. "So have them send it in, and allow them to go vote, and whether the system is as good as they say it is, then clearly they won't have the ability to vote. When it is not tabulated they won't have the ability to vote, so that is how it is. And that is what they need to do."
Visit CNN's Election Center for complete coverage of the 2020 race
At a series of cleanup tweets on Thursday, Trump said Americans must". . .go to your Polling Place to find out whether your Mail In Vote was Tabulated (Counted). If it has, you won't have the ability to Vote & the Mail In System worked properly. If it has not yet been Counted, VOTE. ..."
Trump's Twitter comment is legally sound, but does not make much sense and is an ineffective way for Republicans to monitor their ballots, experts have told CNN. But his opinions contained so much misleading information regarding election procedures they had been immediately censored by Twitter, and motivated election officials from Michigan and North Carolina, amongst others, to remind taxpayers Thursday that voting twice is prohibited and they could be prosecuted.
The White House has attempted to defend the President's comments suggesting that Americans vote saying Trump"needs enfranchisement" and is only trying to get Americans to"verify your vote."
"The President doesn't condone criminal voting," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Thursday. "The President's been very clear about it."
She claimed that the media is"carrying the President out of context."
Attorney General William Barr did not object to Trump's first implication when asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer when Trump was encouraging people to commit a crime by voting twice.
"I don't know precisely what he was saying, but it sounds to me what he is saying is he is trying to make the point that the capability to track this system is bad," Barr said Wednesday. "And when it was so great, in the event that you tried to vote another time you'd be captured if you voted in person."
When Blitzer said that voting twice that manner could be prohibited, Barr said he did not know particular state legislation.
Trump has regularly and baselessly assailed mail-in voting as prone to fraud. Several states have expanded their mail-in voting options this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Trump campaign and the Republican Party are fighting a number of these in court.
After Trump's and Barr's remarks on Wednesday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold warned voters against attempting to vote twice.
"Correcting misinformation about our elections is an important part of the job I was chosen to do by Coloradans," Griswold said in a statement. "2020 was unprecedented in lots of ways, but I never imagined that as Secretary of State I would need to inform both the President and the US Attorney General that it's illegal to vote twice."
At a North Carolina"telerally" Friday night, which was posted on Facebook, Trump spent the first few minutes of this telephone describing in detail how he wanted his voters to vote. Should they vote by mail, they ought to go to their polling place anyway to"determine whether your mail-in vote was tabulated or counted," Trump said, noting that if it has been counted, then they won't have the ability to vote.
It is a federal crime to vote twice at exactly the same election, and it's also a felony in virtually every state, including North Carolina.
"When it hasn't been counted, vote -- that is every citizen's right to do -- you go and vote. You press on the lever and vote. So if it has not been counted, if it does not appear, go and vote, and then, if your mail-in ballot arrives after you vote, which it should not but possibly it may perhaps, that ballot won't be used or counted in your vote is already cast and tabulated, so this way you are certain to have your vote count," Trump said. Then see and then vote and let us see what happens. You are now assured, however, that your very precious and significant vote was counted."
The telephone ratchets up Trump's past insinuations that voters must cast ballots twice, which would be prohibited. Such attempts would most likely be ineffective but could serve to further sow confusion about the election, which has already been upended by the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented demand for mail-in voting.
In a indication of how broadly the President's message has been delivered, at least one voter in North Carolina discovered the telerally after picking up an unsolicited telephone call from an unknown number using a 704 area code.
The resident, who was a registered Republican for at least two decades until they switched to unaffiliated last year, told CNN they had been amazed to hear Trump's voice when they picked up their landline telephone before 7 p.m. ET Friday.
The individual, who didn't need to be identified, said they hadn't been expecting the call or for it to be over half an hour . The individual said that when the President started talking about absentee ballots, they thought maybe he was going to walk back his previous remarks, but that wasn't the case.
On Wednesday, Trump first suggested in North Carolina that Republicans cast their ballots twice to supposedly double-check that their first votes were counted.
"Well, they will go out and they will go vote, and they are going to have to go and check their vote by visiting the poll and voting that way, since if it tabulates then they won't be able to do that," Trump said. "So have them send it in, and allow them to go vote, and whether the system is as good as they say it is, then clearly they won't have the ability to vote. When it is not tabulated they won't have the ability to vote, so that is how it is. And that is what they need to do."
Visit CNN's Election Center for complete coverage of the 2020 race
At a series of cleanup tweets on Thursday, Trump said Americans must". . .go to your Polling Place to find out whether your Mail In Vote was Tabulated (Counted). If it has, you won't have the ability to Vote & the Mail In System worked properly. If it has not yet been Counted, VOTE. ..."
Trump's Twitter comment is legally sound, but does not make much sense and is an ineffective way for Republicans to monitor their ballots, experts have told CNN. But his opinions contained so much misleading information regarding election procedures they had been immediately censored by Twitter, and motivated election officials from Michigan and North Carolina, amongst others, to remind taxpayers Thursday that voting twice is prohibited and they could be prosecuted.
The White House has attempted to defend the President's comments suggesting that Americans vote saying Trump"needs enfranchisement" and is only trying to get Americans to"verify your vote."
"The President doesn't condone criminal voting," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Thursday. "The President's been very clear about it."
She claimed that the media is"carrying the President out of context."
Attorney General William Barr did not object to Trump's first implication when asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer when Trump was encouraging people to commit a crime by voting twice.
"I don't know precisely what he was saying, but it sounds to me what he is saying is he is trying to make the point that the capability to track this system is bad," Barr said Wednesday. "And when it was so great, in the event that you tried to vote another time you'd be captured if you voted in person."
When Blitzer said that voting twice that manner could be prohibited, Barr said he did not know particular state legislation.
Trump has regularly and baselessly assailed mail-in voting as prone to fraud. Several states have expanded their mail-in voting options this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Trump campaign and the Republican Party are fighting a number of these in court.
After Trump's and Barr's remarks on Wednesday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold warned voters against attempting to vote twice.
"Correcting misinformation about our elections is an important part of the job I was chosen to do by Coloradans," Griswold said in a statement. "2020 was unprecedented in lots of ways, but I never imagined that as Secretary of State I would need to inform both the President and the US Attorney General that it's illegal to vote twice."