Donald Trump is already questioning the legal process of the US election.
And even shoots across the board: his latest statement caused horror in many states.
The US election campaign is entering the decisive phase.
The President is elected on November 3rd.
Incumbent Donald Trump has now alarmed critics, but also government agencies, with a "tip" about voting.
States are seeing a call for a criminal act.
Facebook reacts - and warns of "unrest".
Washington
- Did
Donald Trump
Incite Election Fraud?
A “tip” from the
US President *
on how to deal with
postal voting
is
making waves
in the
United States
- and on social networks.
Twitter even hid two Trump posts by default.
States reacted with clear denials: Trump's idea was "great for people who want to go to jail," said Michigan, for example.
Trump gives supporters "advice" for the election - but there could be up to five years in prison
Trump urged citizens
to check
after
sending their postal vote
at the
polling station
whether it had been counted.
If this is not the case, they should vote again.
In this way, they ensured that their "valuable vote is counted," wrote
Trump on Twitter
.
He had launched the same appeal the day before during a visit to the state of North Carolina.
The
double voting
is prohibited in elections in the US - fines of up to 10,000 dollars, or five years' imprisonment are possible.
Based on the massive number of Unsolicited & Solicited Ballots that will be sent to potential Voters for the upcoming 2020 Election, & in order for you to MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS & IS COUNTED, SIGN & MAIL IN your Ballot as EARLY as possible.
On Election Day, or Early Voting, ..
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
President's spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany
stressed that Trump had not called for violations of the electoral laws: The President did not justify the "illegal voting".
Trump is only concerned that the voters ensure that their postal vote has been registered.
Trump on Twitter: "The president's idea is great for people who want to go to jail" - and danger in the corona pandemic?
Outside of Trump's house you see it differently.
"It is illegal to vote twice, no matter who encourages you," said a
Michigan State
statement
.
"The president's idea is great for people who want to go to prison," said
Justice Minister Dana Nessel
, a Democrat.
The electoral authority in
North Carolina also
said on Thursday: "It is illegal to vote twice." Similar statements came from electoral officials in
California, Colorado and Arizona
, among others
.
The North Carolina agency also warned citizens not to
come
to polling stations on election day, contrary to the president's appeal
, to ensure that their postal votes were counted correctly.
"No need.
In addition, it would lead to longer queues and a possible
spread of the coronavirus
. ”The US states are responsible for carrying out the election.
Donald Trump: Election Advice “Violation of Civic Integrity”?
The online networks
Facebook and Twitter
have provided Trump's appeal with distancing notes.
In its comment on the president's message on Thursday, Facebook emphasized that postal votes in the US were viewed as "reliable" by independent experts.
This also applies to the
upcoming presidential election
. * Twitter described Trump's appeal as a violation of the user rules on “civic integrity” - users have to click again to view the tweet.
The online networks are facing the US election under heavy pressure from parts of the public to take action against manipulative and false content on their sites.
This has recently also led to the fact that
Trump's messages have been removed several times
or given distancing references.
Trump has been campaigning against
postal voting
for months
and describes it as extremely prone to fraud.
Experts strongly disagree.
Critics accuse the president of
wanting to stir up
doubts about the election result
with his statements
-
only
to not recognize the outcome in the event of a defeat.
In polls, the incumbent is currently behind his opponent Joe Biden of the opposition Democrats.
US election 2020: Facebook boss warns of "unrest"
Facebook announced several
measures against misinformation
in the run-up to the US election
on Thursday
.
For example, no new election advertising should be allowed on the company's website a week before the polls.
Messages are also to be deleted which claim that people would be infected with the corona virus if they vote.
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg
warned with drastic words of possible
"unrest" in the course of the election
.
He worries that "there could be an increased risk of unrest in the country because our country is so divided and the final election results may only be known after weeks or months".
Because of the corona pandemic in the US, it is estimated that
twice as many people
could cast their votes by post
this year
than in the 2016 election. Many states are expanding postal voting options so that people do not have to go to polling stations Expose risk of contagion.
The
expansion of postal votes
is a mammoth organizational task, and many observers fear chaotic conditions.
In the USA, voting will take place on November 3rd *.
Trump's election campaign has repeatedly caused a stir - most recently the US president had put forward conspiracy theories in a TV interview.
(
dpa / AFP / fn
) *
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.
