Every night on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour, host Brian Williams starts off his show with the number of days until the 2020 presidential election: 427, 316, 251, 165. Now, people can see a way to have their vote count and dislodge Donald Trump from his swamp-encrusted throne.
Sunday Morning on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper., Dana Bash interviewed former governor and sitting Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). She asked him about Donald Trump’s call to vote in person and dismantle the Postal Service. Scott’s response was surprising:
‘”I think as long as you can do it safely, as long as you can make sure there’s no fraud, we ought to be able to do absentee ballots like we do it in Florida,” Sen. Rick Scott says about mail-in voting as President Trump criticized the system.’
“I think as long as you can do it safely, as long as you can make sure there’s no fraud, we ought to be able to do absentee ballots like we do it in Florida,” Sen. Rick Scott says about mail-in voting as President Trump criticized the system. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/y7XEaz7NBH
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 24, 2020
Scott owns a business that had the largest Medicare/Medicaid fine, so he knows how many people of a certain age live in his state. For those individuals, hopping down to the local voting line during a coronavirus pandemic is no simple thing.
By late April, 19 people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who either voted in person at a spring special April 7th election or worked at a polling site tested positive for coronavirus, according to ABC News. The weather was bad, and the lines were long after state officials closed down all but five voting sites, a convenient Republican trick to limit voters.
City Health Commissioner Dr. Jeanette Kowalik said on April 21:
‘As of today, we have identified seven individuals that contracted — at least it appears — COVID-19 through election-related activities, whether they had showed up to vote at one of the polling sites in the city of Milwaukee or they worked at one of the polling sites.’
Scott said on Sunday that states can conduct mail-in voting for the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic, but said laws to mitigate fraud need to be in place.
That is amusing given that as hard as they might try, Republicans have not been able to find instances of voter fraud. Donald Trump brought in the prince of fraud former Secretary of State, now running for the Senate Kris Kobach (R-KS) to root it out, but there was nothing to find.
During the interview, Bash asked the former governor how he felt about absentee or mail-in voting with no fraud. He replied:
‘Yeah if you follow the law, and you enforce the law, and you set up the laws the right way you can do i.’
Scott’s comment was in direct contradiction to POTUS. The president has been outspoken against mail-in voting. How can it work for all military members off-shore?. According to The NewYork Magazine, 45 states allow mail-in voting just like Trump warned against:
‘Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can’t get to the polls on Election Day. These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is “RIPE for FRAUD,” and shouldn’t be allowed!’
The president said on Thursday that mail-in-voting would mean “total election fraud.” Mail-in voting makes it far more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to throw the election to Trump again:
‘You said you have laws to make sure there’s no fraud. The president is saying that mail-in voting in 2020 will lead to “total election fraud.” It sounds like you disagree with that.’
Scott told Bash:
‘Well I think what he’s saying is that it’s only, they’re talking about only doing mail-in ballots. I believe you can do it safely and you have the laws and everybody follows the laws, I think that’s the key. I’m fine with absentee ballots the way we do it in Florida, with early voting the way we do it in Florida, with Election Day voting, which is clearly the safest.’
Trump threatened to withhold funding should Michigan and Nevada allow vote-by-mail, which is illegal. Michigan notified the public every registered voter will get applications to request absentee ballots by mail. Nevada’s primary election will be by mail.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
