The Trump administration is using it 20 year old report to misrepresent former President Jimmy Carter’s views on mail-in ballots and absentee ballots as she pushes for federal legislation that would impose strict new requirements for proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote before the midterm elections.
On two consecutive days this week, President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt cited a 2005 report from the Federal Election Reform Commission while defending the American Voter Eligibility Protection Act, or Save America Act. The committee’s co-chairs were Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker, who served in high government positions under the administrations of three Republican presidents — Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W.
Trump and Levitt falsely claimed that Carter was against the use of mail-in ballots and absentee ballots because they could lead to fraud, a false portrayal of the report’s conclusions.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
Trump, V Republican Members’ Issues Conference Monday: “Jimmy Carter, the best thing he ever did, chaired a committee after he became president. It was the best thing ever. And he did something about mail-in ballots. He said mail-in ballots shouldn’t be allowed because they’re inherently dishonest.”
Levitt, in A White House press conference On Tuesday: “The 2005 Federal Election Reform Commission report, which included everyone from former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, concluded that ‘absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.’
THE FACTS: Carter supported mail-in voting and absentee ballots, according to statements by the late president, his grandson Jason Carter, and the Carter Center. The 2005 report said that absentee and mail-in ballots can create opportunities for fraud, but it also suggested ways to reduce this risk and recommended more research on the issue. Experts say there is no evidence that mail-in or absentee voting leads to widespread fraud, either now or 20 years ago.
“My grandfather supported voting by mail — so much so that he used it himself,” Jason Carter, chairman of the Carter Center Board of Trustees, told The Associated Press in a statement Wednesday. “Any claim to the contrary unnecessarily sows doubt about the integrity of the election and undermines voter confidence in an important election year.”
President Carter himself publicly supported mail-in voting and absentee balloting in 2020, a view that continued until his death in 2024.
“I urge political leaders across the country to take immediate steps to expand mail-in voting and other measures to help protect the core of American democracy — our citizens’ right to vote,” he said. In May 2020 Amid concerns about elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Four months later, in response to news reports about his opinion on absentee ballots, Carter said: “I agree to use absentee ballots and have been using them for more than five years.”
Mail-in voting remains popular with voters from both major parties. During the 2024 elections, which Trump won, Nearly 30% of voters cast their ballots by mailAccording to the US Election Assistance Commission. That was higher than pre-pandemic levels, when about a quarter of voters used mail-in ballots. Three of the four states where mail-in ballot use was higher than in 2020 are politically controlled by Republicans — Indiana, South Dakota and Utah.
Trump himself Voting was done by mail In his home state of Florida.
In 2005, the Commission on Federal Election Reform, organized by the American University Center for Democracy and Election Administration and funded by a group of philanthropic organizations, published a report entitled “Building Trust in American Elections.” Among this committee’s findings are that “absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud” and that voting by mail “is likely to increase the risk of fraud and contested elections” in some states.
However, the report did not encourage the use of mail-in ballots or absentee ballots. Instead, it includes suggestions on how to reduce the risk of fraud.
The report made three recommendations related to absentee ballots and voter registration fraud: that jurisdictions only allow specific people to handle ballots, and prohibit candidates or party workers from picking up and delivering absentee ballots; that states should pass legislation to reduce fraud resulting from voter registration payments, absentee ballots, or signature collection efforts; And that states should not discourage legal voter registration or work to vote.
She also suggested that states implement better ballot integrity safeguards and encouraged more research on the pros and cons of mail and early voting. The report noted that in Oregon, which has been using mail-in voting for seven years, there was “little evidence of fraud.”
“The administration’s claims about President Carter’s views on mail-in voting are false,” the Carter Center said in a statement this week to The Associated Press.
She said these allegations “do not take into account the rest of the report’s findings or President Carter’s acknowledgment of the safeguards that have emerged in the more than 20 years since this report was issued.”
Mail-in voting and absentee voting It does not cause widespread election fraudaccording to experts, even use them It has increased In the past two decades, from about 13% from voters in 2004 to nearly a third of all votes cast two years earlier.
“There is no evidence that mail-in voting fraud was widespread then, and it is not widespread now,” said Mark Lindemann, director of policy and strategy at Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group focused on election technology. “Mail voting has become more common and more mature. So, over that period of time, states have learned from each other — best practices for not only avoiding fraud, but just managing mail-in ballots well overall.”
For example, ballot tracking, processing of initially rejected ballots, and the ability to identify and process duplicate voter registrations have improved.
Trump did Mail-in voting fluctuated Over the years. He preemptively argued that mail-in balloting was bad months before voting began in the 2020 election. Meanwhile, he Encourage voters in Florida – The state he won – to vote by mail. Trump and other Republicans then blamed mail-in voting for his loss.
The GOP, and sometimes Trump, urged voters to cast mail-in ballots ahead of the 2024 election when it was seen as a necessary course correction during a close race.
Asked whether Trump stood by the statements he and Levitt made, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “President Trump and Carolyn are absolutely right — and Carolyn read a direct quote from the report during her briefing.”
She added that the Carter Center’s May 2020 press release that included Carter’s endorsement of mail-in voting “does not invalidate the findings” of the 2005 report.
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Find AP validation here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.