Georgia Republican: It would be 'extremely devastating' for the GOP if people are allowed to vote by mail

Calls to expand mail-in voting have grown as the COVID-19 pandemic has made waiting in long lines at polling places a potential health hazard.

Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have rejected the idea because they fear making it easier for people to vote will harm the GOP.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia State House Speaker David Ralston became the latest GOP official to warn about the perils that vote-by-mail initiatives would have on his party.

"This will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia," he said. "Every registered voter is going to get one of these. … This will certainly drive up turnout."

Trump earlier this week similarly told "Fox & Friends" that Democrats were pushing for initiatives that would generate "levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again."