The “big lie” pushed by Donald Trump as he faced defeat in the 2020 presidential election was that there was election fraud. Trump targeted absentee and mail-in ballots, voting methods he himself uses. After the inauguration of President Joe Biden Republican states then started restricting the voting methods which Trump and his campaign lied were fraudulent. These voting methods, particularly absentee and mail-in ballots are not prone to fraud and they are not fraudulent. They are not new either and have been used for over a century in America. New census data shows that over 2 in 3 Americans voted using methods the Grand Old Party (GOP) is trying to restrict. This article published by Forbes is written by Alison Durkee. Here is n excerpt:

Nearly 70% of Americans cast their ballot in November either early or by absentee ballot, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows, reinforcing the widespread popularity of these voting methods—used by demographics favoring both Democrats and Republicans—as GOP-led state legislatures nationwide push forward with placing additional limits on them.

KEY FACTS

The Census bureau found 69% of Americans used nontraditional voting methods in the November 2020 election—up from 40% in 2016—as states relied more heavily on these methods amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A majority of voters in every demographic voted either early or by mail, with the highest numbers seen among Americans ages 65 and older (77.7% used nontraditional methods), those with a bachelor’s degree or higher (74.5%), women (71.2%) and non-Hispanic Asian voters (82.4%).

Read the full story here. Also see related Democracy Chronicles articles like those on Voting Methods, Direct Democracy, and definitely checkout our main Voting Methods section.