Donald Trump calls mail-in ballots 'ripe for fraud' as COVID-19 worries loom over US polls

With Democrats pushing for 100 per cent mail-in voting for the upcoming presidential election in November, Republican Party's Donald Trump has called it "RIPE for FRAUD" and that it shouldn’t be allowed. US President Donald Trump took to Twitter where he supported the absentee ballots but opposed 100% mail-in voting, accusing it of not being fair to all. As per reports, calls for mail-in voting in the United States grew after people turned up for April 7 Wisconsin primaries wearing masks, standing six feet apart from each other at polling stations. 

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However, Trump lashed out at the idea of everyone voting through mail-in ballots, making unsupported claims that the practice is "fraud and unfair". Trump also admitted that mail-in ballots could threaten his Republican Party as the practice would bring out more voters, who he believes would vote for the Democratic party.

In an earlier Tweet, Trump had said, "Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason,  doesn’t work out well for Republicans."

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Mail-in ballots

Voting by mails is being practised in the United States for decades and the President himself voted by mail in the last Florida election. Mail-in ballots are mostly used by government officials, military personnel stationed away from home, diplomats residing in foreign countries. According to reports, 24 per cent of voters cast their votes through mail-in ballots in the 2016 presidential election and the figure rose to 26 per cent during the 2018 mid-term Congressional polls. There are reportedly five states in the United States that have implemented the practice fully, while other states have partially allowed the system. 

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(Image Credit: AP)