On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump sent a tweet suggesting that the 2020 election should be delayed. In his tweet, Trump alleged that mail-in voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a rigged election.

“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”

The authority to change the date for elections rests with Congress, not the president.

In recent days Trump has ramped up his opposition for mail-in voting, an option that many states are planning to implement because of COVID-19 social distancing protocols.

However, this is the first time he has explicitly suggested that the 2020 elections should be delayed. There has been no evidence found in numerous national and statewide studies that suggests that mail-in voting could lead to an inaccurate result in the election

Trump tweeted on the same day that mail-in voting could lead to foreign interference in elections as well, without providing any evidence.

“Mail-In Voting is already proving to be a catastrophic disaster. Even testing areas are way off. The Dems talk of foreign influence in voting, but they know that Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter the race. Even beyond that, there’s no accurate count!”

Trump’s tweet came minutes after news reports stating that the gross domestic product (GDP), the total amount of goods and services produced by the nation, shrunk by 32.9% in the most recent quarter, the steepest decline on record.

Trump’s suggestion also comes as multiple polls have shown him trailing or tied with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key Republican and battleground states.

Trump’s suggestion of delaying the election has received serious condemnation from lawmakers.

New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, a Democrat, said the president had no authority to delay the election “But the fact that he is even suggesting it is a serious, chilling attack on the democratic process. All members of Congress – and the administration – should speak out.”

Democratic Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi stated that the election will take place on the scheduled date “regardless of what conspiracy theories he tries to push.”

Six states are planning to hold complete mail-in voting in the November elections, including Utah, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Other states are also considering it.

The states will send the ballots by mail to registered voters before Election Day and voters will have to fill them out and send them back on Election Day.

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