Utah Republicans weigh Trump's calls to eliminate mail-in voting

WASHINGTON — Utah's congressional Republicans are carefully wading into the election reform debate, balancing President Donald Trump's calls to eliminate mail-in ballots while also defending the Beehive State's mail-in voting system that has been in operation for over a decade.

Trump has long called to end the practice of mail-in voting, claiming it leads to widespread fraud and "rigged" elections. But that rhetoric has ramped up in recent months with the push to pass the SAVE America Act, a proposal by Sen. Mike Lee to enact stricter requirements for federal elections by enforcing voter ID and proving one's citizenship before casting a ballot.

The SAVE America Act does not explicitly ban mail-in voting. But it does restrict how states conduct elections through mail ballots by no longer permitting election officials to automatically send ballots to individuals on the voter rolls and instead requiring them to opt in. Those voters must then also prove their citizenship through some form of documentation.

"Rather than being universally distributed, mail-in ballots should be reserved for members of the military stationed overseas, medical necessity, and other serious reasons by individual request," Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. "Widespread mail-in voting invites fraud, ballot-harvesting, late-ballot complications, and defies the official Election Day designated by Congress."

But recent comments by Trump indicates the president wants to go even further — calling for the end of mail-in ballots altogether, with the exception of military members, those with disabilities or illness, or international travel.

"Why would you want mail-in ballots if you know it's corrupt?" Trump told reporters earlier this month. "It's a corrupt system."

But Republicans as a whole are not yet on board with the full elimination. That includes most of Utah's congressional delegation, who hail from a state that was an early adopter of mail-in voting in 2013.

And while Utah Republicans express support for the SAVE America Act and stricter voter ID requirements, they want to ensure it doesn't unravel the system that Utah voters have relied on for years.

"Utah has an exemplary mail-in voting system that undergoes constant revision and auditing. It is administered very well and is vital for our rural communities," Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, told the Deseret News. "I believe implementing voter ID is critical to ensuring there are no loopholes allowing noncitizens to vote. As the Senate considers making improvements to this legislation, it's important that they ensure those safeguards without limiting the access Utah has worked to provide to our rural communities and other U.S. citizens."

Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, expressed similar support, noting it's important that states have "the flexibility to run their elections the way they see fit" — likely a response to some opponents of the SAVE America Act who claim the bill would nationalize elections.

"Congress has a constitutional responsibility to protect federal elections, and that means making sure the right safeguards are in place so every legitimate vote counts and every eligible voter can participate with confidence," Kennedy said.

The proposed changes to federal law come as the Utah Legislature considers its own changes to the statewide mail-in voting system. House Republicans are putting forward a bill, for the second year in a row, to require voters to submit their ballots in person and show identification.

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