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Speaking on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Joe Biden expressed his concerns that President Donald Trump will try to “steal” the November election. Biden was referring to Trump’s well-documented disdain for mail-in voting, despite the president himself casting a mail-in vote in Florida’s primary in March.
Speaking on the Comedy Central show, Biden contended “This president is going to try to steal this election.” He elaborated by adding, “This is the guy who said all mail-in ballots are fraudulent — voting by mail — while he sits behind a desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in a primary.”
Trump has made repeated claims alleging that voting by mail is more prone to fraud than in-person voting. However, Trump has offered no evidence to these claims. Three weeks ago, Trump made claims on Twitter to this effect that resulted in Twitter appending fact-checking banners to clarify the misinformation.
In truth, studies have shown that mail-in voting is, generally speaking, only slightly more prone to fraud than in-person voting. Studies have shown that these are typically accidental, and occur when someone uses the wrong address, or when someone who isn’t a registered voter submits a mail ballot. The president himself, when voting in the Florida primary, included the White House as his address, despite it being a crime in Florida to vote there while listing your residence as out-of-state.
Trump has also floated the theory that widespread voting-by-mail would benefit Democrats over Republicans. However, studies into mail voting show that it doesn’t favor one party over the other.
Even if he loses the election in November, Trump might claim that voter fraud was to blame. People will use their allergy coupons to fight seasonal sniffles so they can stand in line to vote him out. But Trump could claim that the results are illegitimate. This could create a scenario where he refuses to leave office, democrats fear.
Biden addressed these fears directly. He told Noah that he has already considered a situation where Trump refuses to peacefully relinquish office. In that incident, Biden thinks the recent military outcry against Trump would help forcibly remove him from the White House.
“I was so damn proud. You have four chiefs of staff coming out and ripping the skin off of Trump, and you have so many rank-and-file military personnel saying, ‘Whoa, we’re not a military state. This is not who we are,’” the former vice president said. “I promise you, I’m absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch.”
