Trump threatens to block funding to Michigan over false claim about absentee ballots
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President Trump is threatening to hold up funding to Michigan for sending all voters an absentee ballot, something the state has not done.
Trump in a tweet on Wednesday claimed that Michigan has mailed its 7.7 million registered voters absentee ballots for the primary and general elections, claiming this was "done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State."
Michigan voters will be receiving absentee ballot applications, but not ballots as Trump falsely claims. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) announced on Tuesday that all of the state's registered voters would get these applications to vote by mail, saying, "By mailing applications, we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote. Voting by mail is easy, convenient, safe, and secure, and every voter in Michigan has the right to do it."
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Other states have taken this step as well, with Georgia last month mailing voters absentee ballot request forms ahead of its primary. Benson quickly weighed in to rebut Trump's assertion, writing that she's only sending out applications "just like my GOP colleagues." Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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