Republican activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump have come up with a plan to prevent cheating in this year's elections.
Voters who receive a mailed ballot can either vote in person on Election Day or hand it in at a polling place.
Fraudsters will manipulate voting systems to rig results for Democrats once they know how many Republican votes have been returned early, according to the plan. There wasn't any evidence of widespread fraud.
It could lead to long lines on Election Day if enough people don't vote early. The ballots probably wouldn't be counted until the next day or two.
Noah Praetz, the former election clerk in Cook County, Illinois, advises local election offices on best practices and security. You are not counted until after Election Day if you don't have mail ballots in hand.
There is no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election. Exhaustive reviews in the states disputed by Trump upheld Democrat Joe Biden's win and legal challenges pursued by the former president and his allies were rejected by many judges.
Over the last two years, conspiracy theories have been spread by Trump, his allies and a group of Republican candidates. The calls to hold onto ballots until the last minute have grown louder recently according to a review of social media accounts by The Associated Press.
In a recent interview with the AP, he said that it was easier to catch fraud than it was to vote. Lindell has been trying to prove that voting machines were manipulated to favor Biden.
At a recent rally, Trump said that voting on Election Day was better because it was harder for people to cheat.
Conservatives are pushing a strategy after the use of mailed ballots increased during the 2020 election. There has been a decline in the use of mailed ballots this year, but it is still a popular option for many voters.
A bad actor can use a last-minute crush of ballots to undermine confidence in the election, according to experts.
The former commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections said that it was an opening for people to start questioning and stoking distrust.
Discouraging early voting and encouraging voters to hold onto their mail-in ballot until Election Day is counter to efforts by most campaigns. Republican and Democratic candidates want to have as many ballots in hand as possible so they can focus on persuading undecided voters.
There are a lot of messages for Republican voters.
The only way to overwhelm the system is to vote in person and on Election Day. The VoterGA told its members to apply for an Absentee Ballot early and wait until Election Day to cast their votes.
Voting in-person early is just as safe as voting in-person on election day according to the chair of the state Republican Party.
The cross-messaging is hitting Republican voters in Arizona, which has high-stakes races this year for US Senate, governor and secretary of state. Mail voting has been popular there for a long time.
Rogers told viewers of One America News Network that they need to vote on the last day of the election so they don't know how much to cheat.
Her party's top candidates have recently tried to counter that strategy.
If you have a mail-in ballot, I think it's a good idea to mail it in. The Republican nominee for governor wants people to vote. You can vote whichever way you want to vote.
Lake favors a single day of in-person voting instead of the current two days of early voting. If a voter wants to vote by mail, it is fine, according to the Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona.
Masters wants to know the results on election night. If you can, please vote in person. Vote early and come back via mail if you don't like it. Let us know the outcome.
It's not clear if the messaging for Republicans to hold onto their mail-in ballots is having an effect. The return rate for mailed ballots in two important states is slower than in the past.
In Georgia, about 23% of mailed ballots have been returned with just over two weeks before Election Day compared to about 35% at the same time in 2020. In the state of Wisconsin, 45% of mailed ballots had been returned as of October 19th, compared to 56% at the same time last year.
Some Democrats think it's a good idea to submit ballots at the last minute.
Pam Keith, an attorney, Democratic activist and former congressional candidate in Florida, said she thinks the predictability of Democrats voting by mail gives Republicans an early indication of turnout levels. She wants to catch Republicans off guard by pushing for a surge of votes at the last minute.
We are showing our strength by voting early. The turnout number is shown. They know what they need to do if the majority of vote-by-mail ballots are in.
Many Democrats have encouraged their supporters to vote early and by mail.
That's right.
The reporter was from New York. Two Associated Press writers contributed to the report.
That's right.
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