Trump is now threatening to withhold federal funding from Michigan due to their Secretary of State sending out over 7 million absentee ballot applications:
“Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”
Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020
Michigan is one of the battleground states for this upcoming presidential election.
[Trump’s tweet] comes a day after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the absentee ballot applications will be sent to all of the state’s 7.7 registered voters so they can participate in the August and November elections without appearing in person, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Benson, a Democrat, said she made the move because of the risks associated with the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 5,000 people in Michigan.
She said the likelihood of people becoming ill because of the virus is still too great for people to show up as a group in the Aug. 4 and Nov. 3 elections.
“By mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Benson said, according to the newspaper.
We’re over 6 months out from the election and Benson is already planning absentee ballots for the November election, using the coronavirus as an excuse. I do hope someone sues to stop this, because otherwise I’ve no doubt that many dead Michiganders will be voting for Biden.
As I’m writing this, I just noticed that Trump is also making the same threat to Nevada…
State of Nevada “thinks” that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can’t! If they do, “I think” I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020
UPDATE: Trump deleted and corrected his earlier tweet…
Michigan sends absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020