Demand Would Disenfranchise Some Military Members • Continues to Play into Putin’s Hands
President Donald Trump has returned to the United States and within hours issued a demand that Republicans be declared winners in the U.S. Senate and governor’s races. All ballots have not been counted and the results are so close an automatic recount has already been declared, as state law requires.
Trump’s demand, were it to be taken seriously, could be a violation of the Constitution. The federal government would be contravening state law, and disenfranchising voters – including the military’s mailed-in ballots.
“The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged,” Trump declared falsely, with exactly zero evidence.
“An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!” the President claimed, wrongly.
By undermining the electoral process and instilling doubt in the minds of Americans about the validity of the voting system, Trump is literally playing into Putin’s hands.
“President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process,” the U.S. Intelligence report on Russia’s attack on American elections clearly states.
Election night results showed both Republicans Scott and DeSantis in the lead, but as counting continued it was clear both races would be within the margin of 0.5%, which triggers an automatic recount.
There is no evidence of ballots being forged, nor is there evidence of ballots being “massively infected,” and it’s unclear what the president’s hyperbole refers to.