Daily Cuomo: Voting by mail protects Americans from 'nonsensical' danger of long lines

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he would order that all voters in his state be permitted to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming primary.

Cuomo said his executive order was made to keep voters from having to choose between safety and voting as the country continues to manage the coronavirus pandemic.

The order came a day after Donald Trump used his daily press briefing to oppose such measures.

From an April 8 press briefing:

ANDREW CUOMO: On voting, I’ve seen lines of people on television voting in other states. This is totally nonsensical. God bless them for having such diligence for their civic duty that they would go stand on a line to vote, but people shouldn’t have to make that choice, and we’re, by executive order, all New Yorkers can vote absentee on June 23, primaries coming up.

On Tuesday, Trump attacked voting by mail, inaccurately describing absentee voting as “dangerous” and “fraudulent.” Nevertheless, Trump himself requested a ballot by mail so he could vote in Florida, where he is legally a resident.

When a reporter asked him why voting by mail was OK for him but not for others, Trump replied, “Because I’m allowed to. Well, that’s called ‘out of state.’ You know why I voted? Because I happen to be in the White House and I won’t be able to go to Florida to vote.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.