On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, President Donald Trump seemed to ignore that this year’s gathering was mostly virtual. Creating confusion, he tweeted about photo ID requirements “to get into” the convention and then used that to bash Democrats for promoting mail-in ballots for the November election.
Trump may have meant that an ID was required to access the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, the original site for an in-person conclave and the convention’s technical nerve center.
Twitter users, though, were on-hand to gently remind the president that for all intents and purposes, the 2020 DNC ― which he had been live-tweeting about every evening ― had no ID requirement since the COVID-19 pandemic had rendered it virtual.
Most of the replies were tongue-in-cheek. But a few pointed out that technically, sending in a copy of a photo ID is required for mail-in voting in multiple states, including Alabama, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin ― undercutting Trump’s argument.
Trump continues to tout conspiracy theories to erode confidence in mail-in voting, claiming that it is rife with voter fraud ― assertions not backed by any evidence. He also has all but admitted he has been blocking funding for the U.S. Postal Service in an attempt to undermine the agency, which is expected to face a flood of mail-in ballots in November due to the pandemic.
At the same time, the president has praised the use of absentee ballots ― which, of course, are mailed in.
In 2018, Trump claimed that photo IDs were needed to buy groceries, which is untrue. Identification is required for alcohol or over-the-counter medication depending on state or federal guidelines, but not for food items.