A GOP governor is drawing a hard line against a key demand made by President Donald Trump ahead of midterms, per a report.
According to reporting by NBC News, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said during a panel on Friday that he will defend mail-in ballots despite Trump's efforts to limit them. Scott defended states' rights and rejected the idea of letting the federal government overhaul mail-in voting when asked about Trump's demand for Republicans to "nationalize" elections.
"I would hope that all, if not the majority, of Democrats would agree that this is ours, not the federal government's," Scott said. "We were here before the federal government was, the states were, and so we formed the government. Now they're getting bloated, and we need to protect our rights."
NBC News noted Trump's years-long fight against mail-in voting, which he falsely claims is rife with fraud and abuse. Trump also falsely stated that his stalled SAVE America Act would ban it, and a federal judge struck down one of his executive orders aimed at limiting mail-in ballots and creating federal voter rolls, a ruling Trump has asked the Supreme Court to lift before the midterms.
Scott argued that the states' rights laid out in the 10th Amendment protect their mail-in voting system, per NBC News. The amendment is "clear on the role of the states in terms of elections," Scott said. "So I think that we should follow that, and we're closer to the people."
States are "closer to our people," Scott continued. "We know what's right and what's wrong, and we can control the elections."
He added that participation in mail-in voting has increased among GOP voters in his state and described it as popular with Vermont Republicans, which he said has led to a boost in GOP representation in the state Legislature, NBC News reported.
"In Vermont, I would have to say, mail-in ballots are popular. Who are they popular with? Republicans," Scott said.