Democrats look to counter vote-by-mail fraud claims

WASHINGTON — Democrats are mounting a new effort to push back against a well-funded Republican campaign that seeks to undermine public confidence in mail-in voting, which President Donald Trump has said, without offering proof, will lead to election fraud.

Fair Fight, an organization led by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, has joined forces with Priorities USA, the largest Democratic outside group, and American Bridge, the party’s opposition research clearinghouse, to form a new effort called Voter Suppression Watch.

The aim is to not only counter Republicans in the courts but in public relations, too, while playing offense by providing opposition research that often forms the grist of critical news stories.

“The 2020 election is the most pivotal election that I can think of, and we have known for a while that there would be efforts made to suppress the vote,” Abrams said Sunday in an interview with The Associated Press. “We need to not only have a concerted effort to push back, but we need to raise awareness, too.”

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, a partisan fight over ballot access was playing out in a handful of state courts. But now that the virus has raised fears that in-person voting could be a threat to the elderly, those in poor health and people of color, whom statistics show have disproportionately borne the brunt of its effects, efforts to expand voting by mail have faced stiff opposition from Trump and his allies.

They argue, without offering evidence, that it will lead to increased voter fraud, even as they have encouraged Republicans to cast ballots by mail in a number of recent elections. Trump casts his own ballots by mail.

Democrats say the Republican opposition to mail voting is also a smokescreen being used to push for broader voting limitations.