Republicans encourage voters to cast mail ballots, despite Trump's attacks

When President Donald Trump wrote on social media in August that there should be "no mail-in voting" and that Americans should "USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY," he appeared to contradict the efforts of Republican officials and activists across the country who have spent the last several years encouraging Republicans to embrace absentee voting.

Trump’s post echoed what had become nearly universal messaging among party members after the 2020 election, when he sought, baselessly, to blame his loss that year to the pandemic-related spike in mail-in voting.

But since then, many Republicans, including some who had been the most avid opponents of absentee voting, have said they recognize that the practice is necessary to win elections.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who wove repeated criticisms of absentee voting into his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, acknowledged to Politico a year later that Republicans "have to embrace no-excuse mail-in voting."

This fall, with voters deciding whether to retain three Democrats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the state Republican Party has encouraged voters to request an absentee ballot.

"If there is even a 1% chance that you might miss the 2025 Election, sign up for a mail-in ballot today! It’s quick and easy!" the state party’s X account posted recently.

Pennsylvania election data shows that in the 2024 presidential election, Republicans accounted for 34% of the total votes by mail, up from 23% in the 2020 race.

Jim Worthington, a business owner and Republican fundraiser in eastern Pennsylvania, has encouraged Republican candidates in the state to develop a robust vote-by-mail operation, warning them that not doing so could cost them an election.

Worthington told ABC News that when Dave McCormick approached him for his support when he ran for Senate in 2024, Worthington told him that he "would support him if he came up with a robust, paid-for vote-by-mail program, which he agreed he would."

Worthington said the ensuing effort, which he said raised $13 million to support vote-by-mail, was "one of the reasons he won, and it certainly helped [Trump]."

Republicans in other states with off-year races this fall have been pushing vote-by-mail.

Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate for New Jersey governor, touted in an interview with Fox News, "We’ve had more Republicans return vote-by-mail ballots than ever before."

The California Republican Party has told voters on X, "Don’t wait until the November 4th deadline, MAIL IN YOUR NO ON PROP 50 BALLOT TODAY," referencing the ballot measure proposed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that would redraw the state’s congressional districts.

Some experts cautioned, however, that Trump’s warnings against mail-in voting could hinder the efforts by party members to push the practice.

"The Republicans have a two-fold problem. Number one, the base of the party only comes out when Trump is on the ballot. And number two, he's still telling people, don't use mail in ballots," Philadelphia-based public affairs executive Larry Ceisler told ABC News. "So I don't know how they deal with that."

The White House did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

"No mail-in or 'Early' Voting, Yes to Voter ID!" Trump said last week in a social media post.

Worthington said the rhetoric by Republicans in Pennsylvania is helpful, but limited in its effectiveness. Republicans must also convince low-propensity voters to vote by mail, he said.

"They require people knocking on their doors, going to them, following up, at least three or four visits, minimum, where you've got to continue to go back to them," he told ABC News.

Efforts to boost mail voting by Republicans for next year’s midterm elections must start soon, he warned.

"You just can't roll out a vote by mail program that's next spring and think you're going to make a big enough dent to get those numbers to where they need to be," Worthington said.