WASHINGTON (News Nation) — President Donald Trump is for the first time floating a “delay” to November’s presidential election.
Trump tweeted Thursday: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
During a Thursday afternoon briefing, Trump said he didn’t want to wait to know the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“I don’t want to have to wait for three months and find out the ballots are all missing… smart people know it, stupid people many not know it,” said Trump. “If we do this, our country will be a laughingstock all over the world.”
The dates of federal elections are set by Congress, and the Constitution makes no provisions for a delay to the Jan. 20, 2021 presidential inauguration.
Instances of fraud related to voting by mail (VBM) are rare, according to MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab, which has produced and curated election-related research.
“However, even many scholars who argue that fraud is generally rare agree that fraud with VBM voting seems to be more frequent than with in-person voting,” the MIT report said.
For transparency, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab is funded by Democracy Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.