Trump threatens Michigan, Nevada over mail-in voting

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal funding to Michigan after its secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson (D), announced all of the state’s registered voters would receive applications for absentee ballots in the mail this year.

Trump at first falsely claimed that Benson sent ballots, and not ballot applications, to the state’s registered voters and alleged that the step was done “illegally.” The president threatened to withhold funding if the state did not reverse course, suggesting its move would encourage voter fraud.

Trump later also threatened to suspend federal funding to Nevada, which is holding a mail-in primary election, claiming the state was creating a “great Voter Fraud scenario” and allowing people to “cheat in elections.”

“Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election,” Trump tweeted. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”

Trump copied acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and the Treasury Department on his tweet about Michigan and also copied Vought and the Treasury Department on the post about Nevada.

Benson responded to Trump’s tweet, correcting him by saying that the state “sent applications, not ballots” and pointing out that Republican secretaries of state have done the same in other states.

Trump issued a new tweet hours later correctly saying that Michigan is sending “absentee ballot applications” ahead of the primary and general election but maintaining that the decision was done “illegally” and “without authorization.”

Trump has frequently voiced his opposition to expanding mail-in voting, leveling unsubstantiated and exaggerated claims that mail-in ballots are riddled with fraud and are “corrupt.”

While experts say there are higher levels of voter fraud in mail-in voting than in-person voting, they agree that overall cases of voter fraud are extremely rare.