US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of a “delay” to November’s presidential election.
Mr Trump raised the possibility as he made unsubstantiated allegations that increased postal voting will result in fraud.
The dates of federal elections are set by the US Congress, and the country’s constitution makes no provisions for a delay to the January 20, 2021 presidential inauguration.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Mr Trump tweeted: “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through postal voting, even in states with all-mail votes.
Five states already rely exclusively on postal votes, and they say they have necessary safeguards in place to ensure that a hostile foreign actor does not disrupt the vote. Election security experts say that all forms of voter fraud are rare, including absentee balloting.
Mr Trump has increasingly sought to cast doubt on November’s election and the expected surge in postal and absentee voting as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
And Mr Trump has called remote voting options the “biggest risk” to his re-election. His campaign and the Republican Party have sued to combat the practice, which was once a significant advantage for the Republicans.
Last month, Mr Trump told supporters in Arizona that “this will be, in my opinion, the most corrupt election in the history of our country”.
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