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Democrats' nationwide push to register new voters, including
Black voters and young people, and Trump's refusal to urge his
Republican supporters to vote by absentee ballot are believed to
have been factors in his 7 million vote loss to Joe Biden.
At a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in
Orlando, Florida, Trump said Election Day should be only one
day, not a number of days leading up to the actual voting day.
"There should be a legitimate reason for someone to vote
absentee," he said.
He also proposed eliminating mail-in voting, another factor in
his loss, as well as requiring voters to show identification
when they vote in person and universal signature matching for
those who vote by absentee ballot.
Trump's speech, which had been crafted with the help of former
adviser Stephen Miller, comes as the Republican Party is pushing
to change election laws and put new restrictions on voting after
losing the White House and Senate in 2020.
Dozens of local Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to
limit voting access in states across the country since then. A
Georgia bill that would limit the use of drop boxes and
eliminate early voting on Sundays would curtail traditional
“Souls to the Polls” voter turnout programs in Black churches,
and be devastating for Black voters, activists say.
Trump said Republicans need to fight hard against a new voting
rights bill, HR-1, which would overhaul voting rules and
includes a provision that independent commissions redraw
congressional districts instead of state legislatures.
"This monster must be stopped," said Trump.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons and
Edwina Gibbs)
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