Republican voters who were turned off by former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on mail-in voting are now being encouraged by the GOP to cast their ballots by mail in the upcoming elections. This shift in strategy comes as the party recognizes the importance of mail voting as a way to reach infrequent voters and increase turnout, especially in swing states where the margins are expected to be tight. Despite Trump’s previous claims about fraudulent mail-in ballots costing him the 2020 election, the GOP is now embracing various legal election methods, including mail voting and ballot harvesting, to ensure they do not leave any votes behind.
The shift in strategy towards encouraging mail-in voting among Republicans has been influenced by the losses seen in Arizona, where top Republican candidates who discouraged their supporters from voting by mail ended up losing the election. This serves as a cautionary tale for Republicans who are now prioritizing increasing turnout through all legal means available, including mail voting. Prominent pro-Trump groups, such as Turning Point Action, are launching campaigns in swing states to reach infrequent voters and offering mail voting as one way to make casting a ballot easier.
Despite Trump’s continued bashing of mail voting during campaign events and his blames on it for his 2020 loss, he has also started recommending mail voting to his supporters. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is also filing lawsuits against various aspects of mail voting around the country, causing conflicting messages among Republicans on the use of mail-in ballots. While efforts to increase mail voting among Republican voters have shown some success, there is still a significant drop-off in mail voting among Republicans compared to Democrats, which could pose a challenge in reversing this trend.
In Pennsylvania, Republican efforts to increase mail voting among their voters during the recent primary have led to an increase in mail ballot applications and voter buy-in for voting by any method available. However, despite these efforts, the overall share of mail ballots sent by Republicans remained about the same as in 2020, indicating that there is still work to be done to fully embrace mail voting among Republican voters. The conflicting messages and lawsuits surrounding mail voting could make it challenging for the GOP to quickly reverse the drop-off in mail voting among their base, but there is a growing recognition of the importance of mail voting in reaching infrequent voters and increasing turnout.
