By Adam Pagnucco.
Despite former President Donald Trump’s past criticism of mail voting, the Maryland Republican Party has sent a mass mailer urging people to vote by mail. The mailer, shown below, quotes former Governor Larry Hogan, now the GOP’s nominee for a U.S. Senate seat, as saying, “Thousands of Maryland voters trust voting by mail – it’s safe, secure, and you can vote right in your own home.”
Trump is now flip-flopping – sort of – on mail voting, but his attacks have taken a toll on Republicans’ use of that mode. The chart below shows the percentage of votes cast by mail for Maryland Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters in the last three elections. Republicans are by far the least likely to vote by mail.
Trump’s past anti-mail stance is deeply problematic for the GOP. It says a lot that the Maryland GOP is actually willing to spend valuable cash to push back against it.