Dem
51
GOP
49
Republican strategists have finally figured out that having Democrats vote for 30 or so days before an election and Republicans voting only on Election Day is not a good idea. There could be a severe storm on Election Day, long lines, or something else that makes voting difficult then and some Republicans might just skip voting. Consequently, the RNC and other Republican groups are now pushing early voting, a 180-degree switch from their previous position.
Unfortunately, there is a large, orange-colored fly in the ointment: Donald Trump. He strongly opposes it. This is going to make it a hard sell.
At a Trump rally in Erie County, PA, last year, Republican officials approached all 11,000 attendees and tried to hand them applications for an absentee ballot. Only 300 of them took one. With Trump attacking the procedure constantly, things may not go better this year. In Michigan in February, Trump said: "Mail-in voting is totally corrupt." This kind of remark does not encourage his supporters to vote by mail, no matter what the RNC says or does.
One two-time Ohio Trump voter, Linda Ragsdale, said: "Things conveniently get lost. Especially when concerned with Trump votes." Now, it is true that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy did his best to slow down the mail around Election Day in 2020 because he knew more Democrats than Republicans vote by mail. He might try that again this year, but he certainly does not know which ballot envelopes contain Trump votes in order to slow them down, even if he wanted to slow the Trump votes, which he definitely does not. DeJoy cannot be fired by the president or Congress. Only the USPS Board of Governors can do that. Governors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Currently, the 11-member board has three Democrats, four Republicans, two independents, and two vacancies. On March 4, 2024, Joe Biden nominated former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to one of the vacancies but the Senate hasn't confirmed him yet. (V)