Trump tweets about delaying election. California Republicans and Democrats say that won’t happen
California lawmakers quickly denounced President Donald Trump’s tweet suggesting the November election should be delayed, with even the top Republican in the House of Representatives saying the election would be going forward as planned.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
It’s the latest in a series of statements, without evidence, by Trump’s campaign and administration contending that mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic could lead to massive voter fraud. This is the first time he’s suggested publicly that the election should be delayed.
Congress has the power to delay elections, and Trump could not do so unilaterally. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, quickly tweeted that fact following Trump’s tweet, citing the Constitution, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said the election would proceed as scheduled.
“Never in the history of the federal elections have we never had an election, and we should go forward with the election,” McCarthy said, though he agreed with Trump in expressing doubt about the legitimacy of mail-in voting.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, agreed that the election date was “set in stone” in an interview with local Kentucky station WNKY.
California Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Alameda, also quickly responded to Trump’s tweet, saying “the certainty of (the election) happening is like the sun setting in the west.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, criticized Trump for “once again attack(ing) the integrity of our election system.”
“Mail-in voting is safe and secure,” she said in a statement. “My home state of California and others have long histories of mail-in voting, and widespread fraud has never been a problem.”
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla also issued a series of tweets on the topic Thursday morning, pointing out Trump does not have the authority to delay an election.
“The election will proceed as planned on November 3rd despite Trump’s never ending efforts to undermine our democracy,” Padilla said. “California elections officials are preparing to send every registered a voter a ballot in the mail ahead of November and offer as many safe opportunities to vote both on and before Election Day.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Trump tweets about delaying election. California Republicans and Democrats say that won’t happen."
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