Trump Casts A Mail Ballot Again In Florida Even As He Calls The Method 'cheating'

President Donald Trump formed a message ballot successful an upcoming Florida typical election, according to Palm Beach County records, while publically condemning nan voting method arsenic fraudulent.

"Mail-in voting intends mail-in cheating. I telephone it mail-in cheating, and we sewage to do thing astir it all," Trump said Monday.

Public records bespeak his message ballot was received and counted by predetermination officials successful Palm Beach County, wherever he is registered to vote, though nan records do not item really it was delivered to predetermination officials.

It's a acquainted refrain — and action — from nan president, who has often criticized message voting arsenic rife pinch fraud. He's utilized this rhetoric to push a monolithic elections overhaul measure successful Congress called nan SAVE America Act.

That measure does not extremity message voting, arsenic nan president has suggested successful nationalist comments.

“As President Trump has said, nan SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to usage mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, aliases recreation — but cosmopolitan mail-in voting should not beryllium allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud. As everyone knows, nan President is simply a resident of Palm Beach and participates successful Florida elections, but he evidently chiefly lives astatine nan White House successful Washington, D.C. This is simply a non-story," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said.

Trump was successful Palm Beach complete nan weekend; early voting ran done Sunday.

This isn't nan first clip Trump has voted by message while condemning nan method: He did truthful successful 2020, too.

At that time, NBC News asked Trump really he reconciled his disapproval of mail-in voting pinch nan truth that he voted by mail.

"You cognize why I voted? Because I happened to beryllium successful nan White House and I won't beryllium capable to spell to Florida and vote," he said.

"There's a large quality betwixt personification who is retired of authorities and does a ballot and everything is sealed and certified and everything else," he said then, earlier claiming without grounds that thousands and thousands of group were signing ballots fraudulently successful their surviving rooms. "I deliberation mail-in voting is simply a unspeakable thing. I deliberation if you vote, you should go."

NPR reported astatine nan time that his ballot was hand-delivered by a 3rd party.

Trump blamed nan description of mail-in voting during nan pandemic successful 2020 for his nonaccomplishment successful his 2nd statesmanlike bid, though location is nary grounds of wide elector fraud successful American elections. Since then, message has been astatine nan halfway of Trump’s repeated mendacious claims astir predetermination security.

In his State of nan Union address earlier this year, Trump called for "no much crooked mail-in ballots" and said "cheating is rampant successful our elections."

Trump has posted connected societal media that he would want mail-in voting to beryllium disposable only successful cases of “ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!”

Mail ballots are verified successful different ways depending connected nan state, often by checking a voter’s signature against their elector registration.

Trump made his Monday comments while touting nan SAVE America Act, which would adhd elector ID and documentary impervious of citizenship requirements to national elections nationwide. Trump says he won't motion immoderate bills until it reaches his desk, but measure is stalled successful nan U.S. Senate, wherever it lacks nan requisite 60 votes to walk nether nan chamber's existent rules.

Trump has suggested nan SAVE America Act would extremity message voting, which is not true. The projected rule would make message voting much analyzable — voters would person to photocopy their photograph ID to taxable alongside their ballot — but it wouldn't extremity nan practice.

In his remarks successful Memphis connected Monday, Trump besides reiterated a mendacious declare he's made before, saying that it was "brought to my attraction coming that we’re nan only state that does mail-in voting."

Voters formed ballots done nan message successful astatine slightest 32 countries, according to tracking by a Swedish organization, nan International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, which says it "supports populist worldwide."

Florida is having a slate of authorities legislative elections Tuesday to capable vacant seats, including successful nan authorities House territory that includes Mar-a-Lago. Trump carried nan territory by astir 11 percent points successful nan 2024 statesmanlike race, according to The Downballot, a left-leaning governmental tract that tracks partisan alteration successful authorities typical elections.

Trump endorsed Republican Jon Maples successful nan title and encouraged group to "get retired and vote" successful a Truth Social post earlier this month. Maples faces Democrat Emily Gregory.

Since Trump began his 2nd term, Democrats person flipped 9 authorities legislative seats astir nan state successful typical elections, successful summation to gains successful regularly scheduled legislative elections successful New Jersey and Virginia past year.