President Donald Trump raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he encouraged supporters in North Carolina to vote by mail and try to vote in person on election day as well.
It's a felony in North Carolina to commit or induce someone to commit voter fraud.
The North Carolina Board of Elections rebuked calls for people to attempt voting in person after voting by mail.
STATEMENT: A Message from State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell to NC Voters#ncpol #YourVoteCountsNC pic.twitter.com/eDdXBuAhxV
— NCSBE (@NCSBE) September 3, 2020
The statement reads in part:
"It is illegal to vote twice in an election. N.C.G.S. § 163-275(7) makes it a Class I felony for a voter, "with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at more than one precinct or more than one time…in the same primary or election." Attempting to vote twice in an election or soliciting someone to do so also is a violation of North Carolina law."
It goes on to assure voters that the election process is secure.
"There are numerous checks in place in North Carolina that prevent people from double voting. Electronic pollbooks with information about who has already voted are used at every early voting site. If a voter tries to check in who has already voted, they will be prevented from voting a regular ballot. A voter will be offered a provisional ballot if they insist on voting, and this ballot will be researched after Election Day to determine whether it should be counted."
Trump doubled down on his claims on Facebook and Twitter.
Both social media platforms flagged or fact-checked Trump's statements.
We placed a public interest notice on two Tweets in this thread for violating our Civic Integrity Policy, specifically for encouraging people to potentially vote twice. https://t.co/UU9kJfqptz
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 3, 2020
Many Twitter users noted that Trump was telling his supporters to break the law.
Trump telling his supporters to cast an illegal second vote to see if the verification system works is like the president telling people to try to rob a bank to check whether the police are doing their job. Both are felonies. https://t.co/SGTRTijnlF
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) September 3, 2020
Voting twice is illegal. The country deserves a President who does not encourage his supporters to commit crimes, and who can participate in an election without cheating. https://t.co/N1TiSru7B5
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) September 3, 2020
The "Law and Order" president @realDonaldTrump advocates breaking the law. https://t.co/u8Hx6aksnk
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 3, 2020
He's telling his supporters to break the law.
Literally telling them to vote twice.
And they will. Because they're just that goddamn stupid. https://t.co/a6jAklWcin
— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) September 3, 2020
Twitter is a crime scene.
This is a felony. https://t.co/W1enU9JO7F
— ProTip: Right Matters 🍑🍑 (@alt_localgov) September 3, 2020
This is a literal felony. https://t.co/sbU55zrsbW
— Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke) September 3, 2020
They were astounded that the North Carolina Board of Elections actually had to issue a statement that voting twice is illegal.
Really sad that Board of elections had to remind voters that President of USA @realDonaldTrump who's desperate told NC supporters to commit crimes and vote 2x. @whitehouse https://t.co/2xQiciEJHB
— Shantel (@Shantelpole) September 3, 2020
Two months ago doctors had to tell people that it's dangerous to drink bleach
Now the NC State Board of Elections has to tell people it's illegal to vote twice
Maybe what we really need is a president who stops telling people to do dangerous or illegal things https://t.co/PD7P4icvLJ
— that's DOCTOR soupthrower to you, mate (@emigre80) September 3, 2020
Says a lot, or very little actually, about our country that officials feel the need to reinforce what everyone SHOULD know! @gop, @realdonaldtrump and ilk y'all own this! The dumbing down of your base is a complete success ffs... https://t.co/fSW1Gmhqsd
— Pete Geller aka Peet (@Pete_Geller) September 3, 2020
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AMC