State lawmakers in Pennsylvania encouraged by Trump to repeal Act 77
In the background, a key ally claims that former President Donald Trump is encouraging state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to repeal Act 77, the law that permits all voters in the state to cast ballots by mail. This effort reveals that he is working behind the scenes to influence the midterm elections in 2022. Act 77 is the law that allows all voters in the state to cast ballots by mail.
According to Michael Caputo, a veteran political strategist and a longtime ally of Trump’s who participated in the meeting, on September 6 there was a meeting in Trump Tower with Trump and key allies to discuss how to urge Pennsylvania state Republicans to overturn or repeal Act 77. The meeting was about how to urge Pennsylvania state Republicans to overturn or repeal the law. The “no excuse” mail-in voting provision of the legislation, which was approved in 2019, was affirmed earlier this year by the state Supreme Court. The statute was passed in 2019. The news site Semafor was the first to disclose the meeting, while Rolling Stone was the first to reveal further information about the event.
In statements and tweets, Trump criticized and encouraged voters to avoid using mail-in ballots in the 2020 election, despite the fact that he lost Pennsylvania to President Joe Biden by a margin of 81,660 votes: According to the text of one of the tweets, there is “NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-in Ballots will be anything other than significantly fraudulent.”
According to Caputo, he and a number of other individuals who are engaged in the process of repealing Act 77 sought the meeting with Trump. According to Caputo, the previous president has agreed to meet with them and has been supportive.
“Trump’s message in the September 2022 meeting was that [Pennsylvania] state legislators have to act now, or else we will have no excuse for mail-in balloting long into the future,” Caputo said. “What can [Trump] do? As head of the Republican Party, he can make phone calls, talk to people.”
Caputo said that Trump often communicates with supporters in Pennsylvania about their campaign to reform election law. He also stated that he maintains a close watch on the events that occur inside the state legislature. Caputo referred to Trump’s efforts as “encouraging” and “active.”
Over 1.7 million Democrats voted by mail in Pennsylvania in 2020, while over 623,000 Republicans did so. Of the over 2.6 million people who voted by mail in Pennsylvania in 2020, over 2.6 million were Democrats.
