Nevada passes bill to expand mail-in voting

The state of Nevada has approved a bill that would send absentee ballots to all active voters this November, which U.S. President Donald Trump called an “illegal late night coup” threatening to take legal action. It appears that President Trump is stepping up his attacks on states’ effort to expand vote-by-mail, faced with decreasing approval ratings, conflicts with state governments and investigation by the prosecution.

CNN and other newspapers reported that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, signed a bill Monday that would guarantee mail-in ballots to all active voters to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a major expansion of mail-in-voting. Nevada is the eighth state, along with Utah and Oregon, to adopt vote-by-mail for the upcoming presidential election.

The measure was met with strong criticism by President Trump. “In an illegal late night coup, Nevada's clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state,” he tweeted. He also argued that the U.S. Postal Service is not equipped to handle a surge in mail-in ballots and threatened to sue Nevada, saying that he might issue an executive order on mail-in ballots. He has been opposing vote-by-mail, saying that it will lead to voter fraud.

The U.S. Postal Service, however, said in a statement on Monday that the agency “has ample capacity to adjust our nationwide processing and delivery network to meet projected Election and Political Mail volume, including any additional volume that may result as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Citing research conducted by Stanford University, CNN has also refuted President Trump’s argument that mail-in ballots will work in favor of any particular political party. “Every American should be able to safely make their voice heard this November,” said former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on his Twitter account in support of mail-in voting.


abro@donga.com