New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Murphy: Don’t let Trump undermine election results
Senate Democrats, including Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, took aim Sunday at what they called “voter intimidation and efforts to undermine public confidence in the 2020 election results” by President Donald Trump.
Urging voters to be prepared, Democrats Murphy, Chuck Schumer of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois along with Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced the release of a document they said spells out voting rules and procedures across the country.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with in-person polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Connecticut. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut is allowing any registered voter to cast an absentee ballot this year. But every state has different rules on voting.
“The reason we thought it was important to put this document together is this,” Muphy said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday afternoon. “We all expect that President Trump is going to play dirty on Election Day, and in the days after, just as he’s played dirty throughout his presidency.”
Murphy called the best course of action “to be prepared, to know what the law says, and know what is allowable and what isn’t.”
Schumer said that Trump “for months has been laying the foundation to undermine the election,” — even talking of delaying the voting. The President was also “suggesting without evidence Democrats are trying to steal the election,” Schumer added.
The senators suggested that voters take advantage of opportunities to cast ballots early and to avoid any potential problems on Election Day.
“Be prepared for an election that is unprecedented in American history due to the huge increase in mail-in ballots. It could be 30, 40, 50 percent of the vote,”
Sanders said. “The American people should not have to risk their health to vote.”
Klobuchar said that more than 22 million Americans have already voted.
But even with early voting, the senators said, the outcome of the presidential race, or other contests, may remain unknown on Election Night.
“We all have to put our arms around the idea that this is OK, and we should all expect that,” Klobuchar said.
States have different rules regarding the election process, the senators said. Duckworth said her state of Illinois accepts ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted as late as 10 days after Election Day.
“If there’s any doubt,” Murphy said, “the default is to make sure all the votes are counted.”
Sanders said Republicans are more likely to cast their votes on Election Day, adding that early in-person votes could learn toward
Trump and the GOP, before mail-in ballots swing numbers toward Biden and Democrats as the count progresses.
In response to questions, Klobuchar said Biden’s lead in the polls nationwide and in several battleground states could be an indicator of what is to come.
Regarding the Supreme Court, Schumer said he was “disappointed” that nominee Amy Coney Barrett would not answer questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about recusing herself from a case involving the election or about limits on presidential powers.
Murphy expressed con
cern about the language used by Trump, including calling on Proud Boys, a group linked with white supremacists, to “stand by,” and his talk of recruiting an “army” to monitor the polls. The senators repeatedly said that voter intimidation is illegal.
“I think we all know by now Donald Trump lies — a lot,” Sanders said, adding that Trump is repeating his claims that the election is rigged before it is even held.
The president has expressed opposition to mail-in voting, saying is rife with fraud.
But Schumer referred to political scientist Benit
jamin Ginsberg, who has said he has found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in reviewing decades of results.
“Elections are not rigged,” Schumer said. “This is the leading Republican expert.”
Other groups are also galvanizing before Election Day, one of which is made up of attorneys to advise National Guardsmen.
“The president cannot federalize the National Guard and have them seize and destroy ballots,” Duckworth said.
“We will always be a government,” she said, “of the people, by the people and for the people.”