President Trump suggested delaying November's election in a Thursday tweet, again claiming without evidence that mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud.
The state of play: While this is the first time that Trump has actively floated changing Election Day, he does not have the power to do so. That lies exclusively with Congress, per a Washington Post breakdown of the issue.
- The National Constitution Center also has done a deep dive on the subject, which found that many states have the power to delay general election voting due to an emergency — though postponing a presidential election would be completely unprecedented.
What they're saying: "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???" Trump tweeted.
- Trump campaign spokesperson Hogan Gidley later said in a statement: "The President is just raising a question about the chaos Democrats have created with their insistence on all mail-in voting."
Flashback: Trump called suggestions by Joe Biden that he was considering changing the date of the election "made-up propaganda" during an April press briefing.
- "I never even thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that? November 3rd. It’s a good number. No, I look forward to that election."
