President Donald Trump says he will seek a Justice Department investigation into mail-in ballot problems in Maryland. According to multiple outlets, Trump urges officials to look into claims that Maryland sent a large number of “illegal” mail-in ballots to voters. NBC News reports that Trump links the request to a recent mail ballot error, in which some voters receive the wrong ballot for upcoming primary elections, and he pushes unsubstantiated allegations that the issue is connected to fraud.
Bloomberg and Mediaite report that Trump’s request centers on figures cited by Trump—hundreds of thousands of ballots, described as approximately 500,000—sent out in error or improperly. Mediaite adds that Trump says he will press Attorney Todd Blanche to initiate an “immediate” investigation.
The Hill reports that Trump frames his action as an order for the DOJ to investigate following a report from Maryland’s election board about voters receiving incorrect ballots for the primary elections. Across the coverage, the dispute centers on Trump’s characterization of the situation and the call for federal review, while the underlying claims are described as unsubstantiated in the reports.
