President Donald Trump says he wants to hold up coronavirus funding for Michigan, saying erroneously that the state had mailed absentee ballots to millions of voters. Michigan used federal coronavirus relief funding to mail applications for absentee ballots, not the ballots themselves.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced Tuesday she would send absentee ballot applications to all registered Michigan voters.
Hi! 👋🏼 I also have a name, it’s Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020
Trump has been vocal in his opposition to voting by mail. He claims the practice is ripe for fraud even though there is scant evidence of wrongdoing with mail-in votes. The president says he'll ask aides about holding up the funding, though it's unclear what authority he has to do so.
