The U.S. President Donald Trump has been criticized for encouraging people in North Carolina to engage in illegal activities.
Despite knowing that it is illegal to record more than one ballot, protests against Trump erupted as people were asked to vote twice in the November’s presidential election.
Trump urged the state voters to record a postal ballot and polling station ballot to verify the mail-in system’s legitimacy.
As the Cocid-19 pandemic looks likely to lead to unprecedented levels of postal voting in the US, Trump has cast aspersions on the mail-in voting system, saying it entails an increased risk of electoral fraud.
He said that people should send it and vote, and if the system is as good as they say it is, they will clearly not be able to vote in person.
Trump posted on his twitter account today that: “Based on the massive number of unsolicited & solicited ballots that will be sent to potential voters for the upcoming 2020 election, & in order for you to make sure your vote counts & is counted, sign & mail in your ballot as early as possible.”
At the same time, Trump said he respects the citizen’s right to vote. He suggested that, on Election Day or early voting, people go to their polling station to see if their voting mail is listed. If listed, you may not be able to vote and the mail-in system is working properly.
“If your Mail in Ballot arrives after you Vote, which it should not, that Ballot will not be used or counted in that your vote has already been cast & tabulated,” he added.
This will ensure that your vote has been counted and you can be sure that it will not be lost or destroyed in any way, he added.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein protested Trump’s comments on Twitter. “Today, President Trump outrageously encouraged NCians to break the law in order to help him sow chaos in our election,” he tweeted. Mr. Stein told residents of North Carolina to vote only once.