Vermont’s GOP Gov.Phil Scott on Friday defended mail ballots and state-run elections, rejecting President Donald Trump’s calls for Republicans to “nationalize” elections and limit options for mail-in voting.Asked how he responds to Trump’s call for voting to be nationalized, Scott said he goes back to the 10th Amendment, noting that it’s “clear on the role of the states in terms of elections.
So I think that we should follow that and we’re closer to the people.” “In Vermont, I would have to say, mail-in ballots are popular.Who are they popular with? Republicans,” Scott told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker during a common ground conversation with North Carolina Democratic Gov.
Josh Stein at the National Governors Association meeting in Oklahoma City.The governor added that mail-in voting has increased voter participation among members of his party in his state, which in turn has boosted GOP representation in the state Legislature.“We’re closer to our people and we know what’s right and what’s wrong, and we can control the elections,” Scott added, defending the role of states in administering elections.“I would hope that all, if not the majority, of Democrats would agree that this is ours, not the federal government’s,” he said.“We were here before the federal government was, the states were, and so we formed the government.
Now they’re getting bloated, and we need to protect our rights.”A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Scott’s remarks come as Trump this year has continued his yearslong opposition to mail-in voting, falsely claiming that it is rife with fraud and abuse.The claims have fueled the president’s desire to pass the SAVE America Act, a major piece of federal legislation to overhaul election administration, that has stalled in Congress.Trump has repeatedly said that the bill would ban mail-in voting in most cases, which is not true, though ...