8/20/20
President Donald Trump has been outspoken in railing against the use of widespread mail-in voting as a way to help keep voters safe when they head to the polls in November amid what is likely to still be a pandemic. While mail-in ballots have been touted as an ideal alternative to in-person voting during the coronavirus outbreak, Trump has continued to air unfounded concerns about the possibility of voter fraud. A new Morning Consult poll suggests that voters are not buying the president's argument, however, with the lion's share of voters saying they believe Trump opposes mail-in voting because "he believes it will make it harder for him to win re-election." The new Morning Consult poll found that 51 percent of voters think Trump is afraid of losing the election, should widespread mail-in voting move forward. Meanwhile, 37 percent said they think Trump genuinely believes mail-in voting will "increase voter fraud". Another 12 percent said they did not know or had no opinion on the matter.
Meanwhile, a plurality of voters believe that recent operational changes implemented to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are "politically motivated" and "designed to make it harder for Americans to vote by mail." DeJoy, a Trump campaign donor who took up the helm of the USPS in June, recently brought about a number of changes at the agency, including reducing service and overtime authorizations. He also oversaw the removal of mail collection boxes and sorting machines across the country. The changes led to delays in deliveries, with some expressing concerns around important medication being delayed. In the wake of the changes, the USPS warned that it could not guarantee all ballots cast by mail would arrive in time to be counted, prompting widespread backlash.
