Former President Donald Trump has been toxic to the GOP in many ways in elections, and that includes his unrelenting opposition to mail-in voting.
Republicans lost a state House race in Pennsylvania in a Biden plus-10 district by 35 points, with over 95% of the vote tallied. This is thanks, in part, to the Democratic candidate dominating mail-in votes 86%-14%. In New York, Democrat Tom Suozzi won the U.S. House seat to replace expelled GOP Rep. George Santos, giving Republicans an even smaller margin. The New York Times reported that heavy snow caused turnout to shrink, which is a problem for Republicans who largely have rejected voting by mail and usually vote only in person on Election Day.
Perfect example of the consequences the GOP faces. The election lies spread by Trump & his supporters keep many GOP voters from voting by mail in Pennsylvania & GOP continues to rely on election day voting. There was a huge snowstorm on election day & Dems won w/ mail ballots https://t.co/8aA2EYMupM pic.twitter.com/mIVtje7FbZ
— Dr. Maria Peiro
(@MariaPeiro305) February 14, 2024
It is another sign that the Republican Party failed by letting Trump drive the discourse about mail-in voting. There are certainly problems with mail-in voting and ballot-harvesting that must be addressed, but the GOP cannot address any of those problems if the party is not in power. By pushing voters to disregard mail-in ballots and only vote on Election Day, Republicans are raising the barrier to vote for their own voters and subjecting themselves to variables such as the weather while Democrats make it as convenient as possible for their own voters to vote.
Republicans know this, which is why the RNC under Ronna McDaniel was trying to promote mail-in voting as a strategy for the GOP. Glenn Youngkin rode such a strategy to victory in Virginia, and California Republicans became more competitive in House races after embracing ballot-harvesting even as they said, “We don’t like it,” and, “We don’t agree with it.” It’s wise to play by the rules on the board if you want to change the rules later.
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Trump hasn’t recognized that. Trump has continued to denigrate the process and push GOP voters away from mail-in ballots. Trump, in fact, keeps pushing GOP voters away from any kind of ballots. Trump told supporters in October, “You don’t have to vote. Don’t worry about voting,” encouraging them instead to go to polling stations and watch people vote.
Trump poisoned mail-in voting for a large chunk of GOP voters, and he has shown little interest in fixing that. As a result, Republicans have made elections even more difficult for the party, which gains nothing but helping Trump feel better about his embarrassing loss to Joe Biden in 2020. Trump is not a serious candidate, and the GOP is not a serious party, so long as this mindset persists.