WASHINGTON — This morning, President Trump tweeted he would withhold federal funding from Michigan over its secretary of state announcing that every registered voter will receive an application for an absentee ballot — a step that Republicans in other states have taken without question from the president.
Michigan’s Republican legislators have a choice: they can condemn the president’s attacks or they can explain to their constituents why they turned a blind eye as Trump threatened to withhold much-needed financial relief.
“The Michigan GOP is idly standing by while the leader of their party threatens to withhold critical aid from the state,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “During this time of crisis — exacerbated by catastrophic flooding — the people of Michigan need leaders who will support and fight for them. Republican legislators who don’t stand up to Trump are turning their backs on their constituents.”
Trump’s Twitter tantrum is not the first time the GOP has attempted to limit the distribution of mail-in ballots during the pandemic. Republicans in Texas have sued to stop people worried about the coronavirus from voting absentee, and the Wisconsin GOP took its case all the way up to the Supreme Court just days before its primary elections. Instead of working with Democrats to ensure that registered voters are able to safely exercise their rights, state Republicans are forcing voters to choose between their health and their right to vote.
###
