Donald Trump has falsely accused Democrats of trying to 'steal' a special election in California by adding a polling place in a diverse area, a move that could foreshadow his approach to the November presidential election. The president tweeted that Democrats were deliberately adding one of the few polling locations in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, where it was likely to benefit Democratic voters. 'They are trying to steal another election. It's all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!,' he wrote.
However, the county added the polling location at the request of the area's Republican mayor, R Rex Parris. Parris told the Guardian he requested the additional site after realising a nearby city had two polling places while his had none. 'I gotta take the rap. I called them up and said I want a vote center, so they gave it to me,' he said. The election is expected to take place largely by mail, and the state mailed a ballot to all registered voters in the district.
The incident highlights how Trump could take advantage of rapidly changing voting procedures due to Covid-19 to question the legitimacy of election results in November. While Trump has long railed without evidence about voter fraud, the increased focus on vote-by-mail could offer a new opportunity to undermine confidence in elections. Studies show voter fraud is not widespread.
Richard Hasen, a professor of election law at the University of California, Irvine, said the comments are 'very worrisome because they increase the chances that the president's supporters would not accept the election results as legitimate should he lose in November.' Hasen and other experts have recommended states develop emergency contingency plans and educate the public that results may not be available on election night due to mail-in ballot counting.
Democrats and Republicans are already fighting over expanding vote-by-mail, and the availability of in-person voting remains an explosive issue. Election officials have cut back in-person voting due to poll worker shortages and Covid-19 concerns. Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, warned that changes in voting procedures can be unsettling and allow someone to undermine faith in the system, adding that President Trump has seized that opening.
