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By Jordan King
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The White House has defended President Donald Trump’s mail-in vote in a Florida special election after he publicly condemned the voting method.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Newsweek: “As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military or travel–but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud.
“As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “This is a non-story.”
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According to public records viewed by Newsweek, Trump cast a mail-in ballot in Palm Beach County, where his Mar-a-Lago Club is located, in a Tuesday special election between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples for a state House seat.
Why It Matters
Trump called mail-in voting “cheating” as recently as Monday, when he said during an appearance in Memphis: “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating—I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all.”
He is also currently working to restrict mail-in voting through the SAVE America Act, a bill he is pressuring the Senate to pass. The proposed bill does provide exceptions for when mail-in voting should be allowed.
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What To Know
Palm Beach County records show Trump voted by mail for the Tuesday special election for state legislative seats, and officials marked his ballot as received and counted, though the records do not indicate the delivery method.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that early in-person voting for the special election was open through Sunday, when Trump was still at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump has long argued against mail-in voting, saying in his State of the Union address this year, "no more crooked mail-in ballots,” adding that, "cheating is rampant in our elections."
As the White House said in its statement, Trump has also argued for exceptions to his “no mail-in voting” rule, including on March 3, when he posted on Truth Social that he would want his Save America Act to disallow mail-in ballots “EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL.”
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, in his post about the Save America Act:” THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!
1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE
3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).
4. NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.
5. NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION SURGERY FOR CHILDREN.”
What Happens Next
The Senate will face continued pressure from the White House to advance the SAVE America Act, but unless backers secure 60 votes, the measure will stall under current rules, according to AP.
If the bill advances, states will need to adjust mail-ballot procedures and voter ID requirements, while litigation over federal and state mail voting rules will likely continue.
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