Politics

As Trump rails against voting by mail, AG Maura Healey is seriously concerned about November’s election

The state attorney general called out the president on WCVB's "On The Record" Sunday.

State Attorney General Maura Healey appeared on WCVB's "On The Record" Sunday. Screenshot

September 14, 2020

Attorney General Maura Healey is seriously troubled by President Donald Trump’s campaign to undermine voting by mail as the November election looms ever closer.

“I am so worried about the election, to be honest,” Healey said on WCVB’s On The Record, the Sunday morning political roundtable show. “We need to do everything we can to ensure that everyone has the right to vote and that their vote be counted. I don’t care what party you’re in. This is not a partisan issue, this is an American issue fundamental to our democracy. Everyone should have the right to a fair and free and secure election.”

Healey, who is no stranger to rallying other state attorneys general to sue Donald Trump, joined a multistate lawsuit in August to challenge cost-cutting measures at the U.S. Postal Service. Access to mail-in voting will be more important than ever for the November election because of the coronavirus pandemic, she says. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy promptly reversed course on the proposed initatives, but Healey said in August that the lawsuit will move forward to ensure accountability.

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The president and his administration have railed against mail-in voting since the start of the pandemic. In April, Trump called voting by mail “corrupt” and “ripe for fraud,” and in May, Trump threatened to withhold funds for battleground states that made mail-in voting more accessible. He suggested delaying the election in July and he explicitly endorsed suffocating funds to the postal system last month, citing a distrust of mail-in voting.

Despite the president’s claims, studies have shown that mail-in voting does not substantially increase voter fraud, which is already negligible in normal circumstances. Ironically, Trump encouraged North Carolinians this month to both send in absentee ballots and vote in person to challenge the supposed lack of integrity of mail-in voting.

“You vote twice, you’re committing a crime, and you will be prosecuted, and the idea that Donald Trump as president would actually encourage people to do that is outrageous,” Healey said. “It’s shameful and just another instance of him violating all principles and norms for his own benefit. So I can assure you this, we are right there and will continue to be in court and outside of court fighting to make sure that we have a free and secure and fair election in November, here and across the country.”

Healey also discussed the state’s increase of virtual rental scams, the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, the role of qualified immunity in police reform, the importance of filling out the census, and the prospect of becoming Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. attorney general if he wins in November. Watch the full segment below — Healey’s comments on the president start at 3:48 in the first clip: