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Can Trump's Anti-Mail-Voting Crusade Hurt Him in Key States?

Associated Press

   DES MOINES, IOWA - President Donald Trump's campaign and allies have
   blocked efforts to expand mail-in voting, forcing an awkward
   confrontation with top GOP election officials who are promoting the
   opposite in their states.

   The rare dissonance between Trump and other Republican elected
   officials also reflects another reality the president will not concede:
   Many in his party believe expanding mail-in voting could ultimately
   help him.

   Trump's campaign has intervened directly in Ohio, while allies have
   fired warning shots in Iowa and Georgia, aimed at blunting Republican
   secretaries of state in places that could be competitive in November.

   "There is a dimension to legislatures underfunding or undercutting
   election officials that could ironically backfire and hurt
   Republicans," said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor
   and director of the nonpartisan United States Election Project.

   Action by these three secretaries of state, who are the top election
   officials in their states, was designed to make ballot access easier
   during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump has repeatedly made the
   unfounded claim that voting by mail could lead to fraud so extensive it
   could undermine the integrity of the presidential election.

   In Ohio

   In Ohio last month, senior Trump campaign adviser Bob Paduchik weighed
   in on Secretary of State Frank LaRose's proposal, insisting to GOP
   legislative leaders that they drop a provision to allow voters to file
   absentee ballot applications online, according to Republican officials
   involved in the discussions. The GOP officials spoke on the condition
   of anonymity to discuss internal communications regarding the
   legislation.