President Donald Trump, who has railed against mail-in voting, cast his ballot in person on Saturday near his Florida home.
The president voted for himself at the Palm Beach County Main Library Saturday morning telling reporters it was a ‘very secure vote’ and warning that when you send in your ballot ‘you cannot have security like this’.
First Lady Melania was notably absent from the trip and it is not clear when she will cast her vote or through which method.
The president joins the more than 52 million Americans who have already voted, according to the Elections Project, which tracks early voting data.
Trump also became the first presidential candidate to cast a ballot for himself.
The Biden campaign hasn’t said when or how Joe and Jill Biden will vote. The couple is registered in Delaware, which allows any registered voter to request a mail-in ballot. The state does not allow early in-person voting.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence voted in Indianapolis on Friday, dropping their absentee ballots in a drop box at the the Indianapolis City-County Building.
Nor has been announced the voting schedule for Biden’s running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff.
President Donald Trump , who has railed against mail-in voting, cast his ballot in person on Saturday near his Florida home
Trump takes off his mask before speaking to the press after casting his ballot at the Palm Beach County Public Library
Trump hit out at mail-in voting saying ‘you cannot have security like this’ with the process
Trump’s motorcade departed Mar-a-Lago at around 9:43 a.m. Saturday morning and arrived at the polling station minutes later to cast his ballot in person.
He emerged moments later wearing a mask before taking it off to tell reporters in the library ‘it was a very secure vote’ and ‘everything was perfect’.
Trump hit out at mail-in voting saying ‘you cannot have security like this’ with the process.
He has repeatedly hit out at mail-in ballots during his campaign making several unsubstantiated claims that they are ‘a scam’.
Trump added that it ‘was an honor to be voting’ as he said: ‘I voted for a guy named Trump.’
When asked when Melania was voting, Trump was uncharacteristically silent.
It is unclear if the First Lady will vote in person or through the mail-in method that her husband is critical of.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said there was no one else in there voting at the same time.
She confirmed it was a paper ballot that POTUS cast.
Several supporters had gathered on the stretch of road just outside his Palm Beach estate and right around the library cheering ‘four more years’ and waving Trump 2020 signs.
Florida joined several other states in opening its early voting Monday.
More than 52 million Americans have already voted with 10 days to go until election day, according to the Election Project.
Trump left the polling station around 10:20 a.m. and headed to Palm Beach airport boarding a plane with Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino and Bill Stepien to North Carolina to kick off a long day of campaigning.
The president will hold three rallies in three critical battleground states of North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin as he attempts to draw in votes with 10 days to go until the election.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said there was no one else in there voting at the same time. She confirmed it was a paper ballot that POTUS cast
President Donald Trump, who has railed against mail-in voting, cast his ballot in person on Saturday near his Florida home
Trump’s motorcade pictured arriving at the polling station Saturday morning
Polls show the race in all three states are tight.
The Pences and President Trump’s early votes come after the campaign has criticized the mail-in voting option, saying it leads to voter fraud despite studies showing it does not. Many states expanded their mail-in voting option this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Democrats were quick to take advantage of the new voting rules and have urged their supporters to vote as soon as possible.
Early voting data show Democrats have taken that to heart. More than 86 million mail-in ballots have been requested, the Election Project reports, and 44 per cent of those have been from Democrats with 25.5 per cent from Republicans.
And the number of Americans who have voted before Election Day is hitting record levels.
Florida, which is considered a must-win for Trump if he wants a second term, saw a new record of early votes cast on Monday, the first day the option was available. More than 3.1 million votes were cast with the majority from Democrats at 1.2 million. Republicans cast 1 million ballots and the rest were other parties or had no affiliation.
Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Biden in Miami on Saturday.
Vice President Pence and Karen Pence voted by absentee ballot on Friday, putting them in a drop box in Indianapolis
Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Biden in Miami on Saturday
In Pennsylvania, where Trump’s win there made him the first Republican in over 20 years to carry the state, Republicans had a major loss on Monday when the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling extending the deadline for mail-in ballots. Officials can count ballots received up to three days after Election Day, a huge win for Democrats.
Democrats have requested about 1.8 million – or 64 per cent – of the 2.8 million mail-in ballots requested in the state. Pennsylvania officials cannot begin counting returns until Election Day.
The president held a campaign rally there Tuesday night while Jill Biden was in the state the same day for her husband’s campaign.
Former President Barack Obama held a campaign rally for Biden on Wednesday evening.
In Michigan, of the 3 million registered voters, 1.5 million of them have already returned their ballot, according to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. She predicted two-thirds of voters in the state would vote early this year.
In North Carolina, more than 2 million voters have already cast a ballot and officials predict that 80 percent will have voted by November 3.
And Arizona has seen 1.1 million ballots cast already. Officials there started counting ballots on Tuesday as state law permits the tabulating to start two weeks out from Election Day.