Former President Donald Trump recently made a significant change in his stance on voting practices by urging his supporters to use early and absentee voting methods on Truth Social. This shift in rhetoric was influenced by senior advisers who have been encouraging Trump to embrace all forms of voting, including early and absentee voting, regardless of how the votes come in. Trump, who has historically opposed these voting methods due to concerns of election fraud, now sees the strategic advantage of expanding outreach to swing voters in battleground states through early voting.
Advisers believe that encouraging early voting could level the playing field with Democrats, who have historically benefited from early and absentee voting. However, there are concerns about potential mixed messaging from Trump, as he previously stressed the need for paper ballots and voter ID in a recent interview with Newsmax. Despite this, data shows that voter behavior shifted in 2020 with many Americans embracing early voting due to the pandemic, which led to the highest rate of nontraditional voting in a presidential election. This change in Trump’s rhetoric has sparked a discussion within the Republican Party about the need to adapt to the evolving voting landscape.
In battleground states such as Pennsylvania, there is a widening gap between Democrats and Republicans in support for absentee and early voting. While Trump won the Election Day vote by a significant margin in 2020, Mr. Biden secured mail-in and absentee votes by a large margin, ultimately winning the state by a narrow margin. In other battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas, both parties took advantage of early voting in the last election, with a significant portion of voters casting their ballots early. However, Republican voters in these states still tend to prefer voting in person over voting by mail.
The Republican National Committee has prioritized revitalizing absentee and early voting programs, known as ABEV, with the launch of the “Bank Your Vote” initiative. This move has been welcomed by conservative groups such as the Sentinel Action Fund, which focuses on turning out early and absentee voters. The embrace of early voting practices by Trump and the party has been seen as a game changer for Republicans in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. While there may still be challenges in persuading voters to participate in early voting, this shift in approach signals a recognition of the importance of adapting to the changing voting landscape.
