SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump attacked reliably red state Utah's popular vote-by-mail system on social media Thursday, suggesting it could hand victory to the Democratic Party.
Trump made his claims, which are currently unverified, on his Truth Social site.
Utah has had vote-by-mail since 2013. Republicans have dominated elections in the state for decades, even as the popularity of mail-in balloting has grown. Trump himself has benefited, winning the state each time he ran.
"It seems as though the Great State of Utah, which I won each time, and handily, is going to the All Mail In Ballot format of Colorado, and the rest, that always head LEFT, as soon as the move is made. We should stop Utah from doing this ... Does the Republican Party have any idea what is happening to it? Step by step, State by State, the Democrats are smiling all the way to the "Bank." Stop the onslaught by either immediately terminating the Filibuster and/or pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! President DONALD J. TRUMP," he wrote.
On Utah's Capitol Hill, where Republicans dominate politics, some GOP leaders did not immediately reply when asked for comment on the social media post. Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, a Republican and the state's chief elections officer, did respond to point out the popularity of mail-in balloting and the GOP.
"In Utah we believe in the power of AND. We can be a supermajority Republican state AND vote by mail. The reason Utahns have been primarily voting by mail for more than a decade is because our most rural counties asked for it. Eventually all 29 counties opted in because it’s secure, works well, is less expensive, and voters love it," she said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
"Since implementing vote by mail, Utah has gone from having one of the lowest voter participation rates in the country to one of the highest. As Utah has demonstrated, HOW you vote doesn’t change WHO you vote for, it simply makes you a better voter.
Although Utahns have the option to vote either by mail or in person, more than 90% of voters choose to return their ballots via the U.S. Postal Service or a secure drop box. The fact is, Utahns appear to love both vote by mail AND the Republican Party."
She posted similar on Threads:
When asked about President Trump's post, House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, told FOX 13 News: "This is bulls—."
"Vote-by-mail has been integral and it’s bipartisan," she said of the support in Utah. "And the party that seems to benefit from vote-by-mail is the Republican Party."
The Utah State Legislature this year did put more restrictions in place on mail-in ballots. For example, ballots must be in the possession of a county clerk's office by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Night. Clerks have been warning that it is now too late to mail a ballot, so they recommend people take advantage of secure drop boxes for Tuesday's primary election.
