FACT FOCUS: The Trump administration is falsely claiming Jimmy Carter was against mail-in voting
ABC News
President Donald Trump and members of his administration are claiming that former President Jimmy Carter was against the use of mail-in and absentee ballots, citing a bipartisan 2005 report from the Commission on Federal Election Reform co-chaired by C...
The Trump administration is using a 20-year-old report to misrepresent former President Jimmy Carter's views on mail-in and absentee ballots as it pushes for federal legislation that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship and photo ID requirements for voting ahead of the midterm elections.
On two successive days this week, President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt invoked the 2005 report by the Commission on Federal Election Reform while advocating for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act. The commission's co-chairs were Carter, a Democrat, and former Secretary of State James Baker, who held senior government positions in the administrations of three Republican presidents — Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Trump and Leavitt falsely claimed that Carter was against the use of mail-in and absentee ballots because they can lead to fraud, a mischaracterization of the report's conclusions.
Here's a closer look at the facts.
TRUMP, at the Republican Members Issues Conference on Monday: “Jimmy Carter, the best thing he ever did, he headed a commission after he was president. It was the single best thing. And he did a thing on mail-in ballots. He said mail-in ballots should not be allowed because they are inherently dishonest.”
Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. got the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal off to a pulsating start, combining for the first WBC game with two leadoff homers
Powerful winds and extreme weather are knocking out power, damaging property, and fueling wildfires across parts of the United States
The Justice Department has moved to dismiss charges against an Army veteran who set fire to an American flag near the White House last year to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on flag burning
Kyrsten Sinema says in a legal document that she had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail, but her lawyer argues a lawsuit seeking damages against her should be dismissed
Congressional Republicans are pushing voting legislation that's backed by President Donald Trump and would require voters to produce documentary proof of citizenship in order to register for federal elections
President Donald Trump says the U.S. destroyed military sites on an island vital to Iran’s oil network and warned that the island’s oil infrastructure could be next if Iran continues to interfere with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz
The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the "Mega Millions" game were: 06-19-36-40-55, Mega Ball: 9, Megaplier:
As the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran continues to upend energy markets and supply chains worldwide, the Trump administration says it might suspend maritime shipping requirements under a more than century-old law known as the Jones Act
A federal judge in Massachusetts is temporarily blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in the U.S. The judge issued an administrative stay on Friday
An Oregon Army National Guard helicopter rescued an injured logger from Mount Hood National Forest after rough terrain blocked other options
A Wisconsin legislator has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in connection with a bitter feud with her caucus over resolutions honoring Hispanics
The State Department has slashed by about 80% the fee for Americans to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died after Mobile police shocked him multiple times with a Taser in 2023