President Donald Trump told supporters in North Carolina this week to vote twice: once by mail and then again, in person. He presented it as a way of testing the mail-in voting system—a 100+ year old institution which Trump falsely claims is rife with voter fraud.
The President said:
"Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won't be able to go vote. So that's the way it is. And that's what they should do."
Trump's comments prompted the North Carolina Board of Elections to issue a statement reminding voters that it is illegal to vote twice and urging them not to try to vote in person if they've already voted by mail.
The President doubled down on his earlier assertion after the rebuke from the NC Board of Elections, and now even media personalities from the conservative Fox News network are urging the President to back down.
Fox News host Dana Perino warned that the President's calls for supporters to vote twice were "not smart."
Perino said in the segment:
"We're in the middle of a pandemic. The fraud that the president suggested has not happened as much as he has said. There are some states that have handled it well, but they have had years to figure out the process. I think that it's not smart to suggest people vote twice," she added. "It is also according to the North Carolina election official down there, it is illegal to suggest that people vote twice."
People agreed, and felt the words shouldn't need to be said.
Excellent analysis pic.twitter.com/nWnMvOM21Q
— kf_gore (@derek_sanderson) September 4, 2020
pic.twitter.com/LI0wC8PM76
— les (@bigperm1974) September 4, 2020
Pretty sad that a Fox anchor saying the irrefutable truth is worthy of a story
— Josh Wilson (@JoshWilsonDC) September 4, 2020
Wow, she is qualified to replace Barr as AG
— Louis Boudreault (@LbLouis) September 4, 2020
While Perino noted that voting more than once is illegal, those in the President's administration haven't been as unequivocal.
Attorney General William Barr, when asked to comment on Trump's statements, said he wasn't sure if it's illegal across the nation for an individual citizen to vote more than one time.
As a result, hordes of people felt the need to point out the illegality.
A reminder: It's illegal to vote twice. But not to impeach twice.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) September 3, 2020
Dear anyone at @TheJusticeDept: Can you please educate Bill Barr that it is illegal to vote twice.
And it's really, really easy to get caught since you are giving the evidence directly to the state. https://t.co/zmAtnbFIHz
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 3, 2020
🙋♂️Raise your hand if you know it's illegal to vote twice.
— Chip Franklin (@chipfranklin) September 3, 2020
I just asked my ten year old son if you can vote twice.
His answer, "No. That's illegal."
How is it my 5th grader understands this but the Attorney General doesn't?
— Ted Corcoran (Red T Raccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) September 3, 2020
Um...this is illegal...
https://t.co/KnfgN8cgkc
— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) September 2, 2020
Not only is it a felony to vote more than once in North Carolina, it's a felony to solicit anyone to do so as well.
