CDC recommends mail-in voting due to coronavirus despite Trump's concerns about voter fraud

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  recommends "mail-in methods of voting" due to coronavirus, despite President Trump's concerns about voter fraud being associated with mail-in ballots.

On its coronavirus guidelines website, the CDC advises election officials to "encourage mail-in methods of voting if allowed in the jurisdiction" as part of a larger effort to "encourage voters to use voting methods that minimize direct contact with other people and reduce crowd size at polling stations."

The CalTech/MIT Voting Technology Project recommended that states abolish voting by mail because of the “significant cost to the real and perceived integrity of the voting process.”

Trump has been critical of mail-in voting due to concerns about voter fraud. 

“Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting,” Mr. Trump tweeted on April 8. "Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.”

The CDC referred questions on the issue to the White House, and the CDC did not respond to a request for comment, including a question about whether the agency has received any feedback from election officials or voters who are concerned this recommendation might lead to voter fraud.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment about whether the president was consulted about the decision to make this recommendation.

To read the CDC election guidelines, which have not been updated as of March 27, click the pdf below:

For a screenshot of the CDC website as of Wednesday evening, click below:

Nearly two-thirds of American voters say the country moving entirely to mail-in voting would likely increase voter fraud, according to a recent Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen. 

Just the News has also reported about the practice of “granny farming,” in which political operatives seek out large groups of senior citizens to help them request mail-in ballots and then assist them in filling out their ballots when they arrive. In his book “Fraud: How the Left Plans to Steal the Next Election,” author and researcher Eric Eggers gives examples of how granny farming can lead to election fraud.

Just the News previously reported on five major ways that the CDC got it wrong, or were inconsistent at best in their coronavirus approach. Everything from changing messages to inconsistent data to flat out mismanagement has created more fear, confusion, and distrust that has eroded the trust in the vaunted public health agency.