Former Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway once a staunch opponent of early voting has changed her stance and now believes Republicans should embrace the voting method. In an appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher” on Friday Conway expressed her new position stating “I don’t like early voting but if this is the new normal you adapt or you die politically.”
Conway’s switch comes as former President Donald Trump warms to early voting despite his previous claims that mail-in voting was a key reason he lost what he calls a rigged election in 2020. Trump recently encouraged Republicans to make a plan register and vote using various options including absentee voting and early voting.
Kellyanne Conway backs early voting: ‘You adapt or you die politically’https://t.co/yacY3hyGTx pic.twitter.com/TtsLAYEn3H
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) May 5, 2024
While Conway still considers early voting to be “taking a chance” she hopes more voters particularly older individuals will take advantage of the method to cast their ballots. She expressed her desire for President Trump and his wife Melania to vote early in Florida on the first day they are eligible.
“When the lion roars the others will follow” Conway said referring to Trump’s influence on his supporters. “His voters will say ‘Oh well now President Trump went early I can too.'”
The shift in attitudes towards early voting among prominent Republicans like Conway and Trump reflects the changing voting patterns of the American electorate. In the 2020 Presidential Election mail-in balloting and early voting saw significant increases while Election Day in-person voting decreased.
Kellyanne Conway endorses early mail-in voting: ‘You adapt or you die’ https://t.co/ByQ3mas3I5
🚫❌Couldn’t disagree more. D🐀 want you to vote early so they’ll know ahead of time how many mail ins they’ll need to come up with to cheat.
— ChrisTX🇺🇸🗽 (@ctruey) May 6, 2024