Could Trump's demonization of early voting sabotage his re-election bid?

Palm Beach, Florida - As the 2024 presidential race nears its end, Donald Trump continues to sow doubt about voting, which could come back to haunt him.

Republican strategists who have been pushing for voters to cast ballots early are concerned as Donald Trump continues to demonize the act.
Republican strategists who have been pushing for voters to cast ballots early are concerned as Donald Trump continues to demonize the act.  © Nicholas Kamm / AFP

According to Politico, Republicans across the country have been pouring millions of dollars into efforts to get their political base to embrace early voting methods.

But Trump has been undoing a lot of their hard work by continuing to push unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud and that Democrats are using early voting methods to cheat.

"The whole idea behind absentee voting is you’re banking that vote, you’ve got that person, you know they’re going to vote for you, you get them off the list," explained Wisconsin GOP strategist Mark Graul.

Fade out: Biden disappears into background ahead of Trump inauguration
Joe Biden Fade out: Biden disappears into background ahead of Trump inauguration

"This is how you get the extra five thousand, ten thousand votes that may decide the election," he continued, noting that Trump’s fearmongering only "screws it up."

Tom Eddy, the chair of the GOP in Erie County, Pennsylvania, said he also used to be against early voting for three years, but admitted, "During those three years, we lost elections."

"You have to accept it in order to have a chance to win, and that's what we're doing," Eddy added. "We’ve been pushing these things like crazy."

Donald Trump refuses to listen to reason when it comes to early voting

The party has attempted to urge Trump to get behind their efforts, but he has publicly flip-flopped on the issue multiple times, always reverting to insisting that early voting methods are inherently evil.

Strategists argue that ballots cast early can help the party identify where they are missing support so they can focus their resources on courting undecided voters. These analysts even worry that Trump's rhetoric may turn some voters off from voting entirely.

When reached for a statement, a Trump campaign spokesperson insisted that Trump "has encouraged ALL Americans to vote absentee, early, or in-person on Election Day" as they are "leaving no stone unturned in reaching all supporters."

Cover photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP

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