President-elect Donald Trump questioned the merits of early voting during a stump speech for a GOP Senate candidate Friday in Louisiana.
“You have that long early voting in Florida, it’s so long and so many things can go wrong when you have that long period of time. A long, long, long period. It used to be you have a day and you vote, now you go on forever, weeks and weeks,” Trump said in Baton Rogue.
{mosads}“We have to discuss that early thing, that’s sort of — so many things are going on, I wonder what happens in the evening when those things are locked,” he added, making air-quotes with his hands as he said the word “locked.”
The comments are sure to enrage Democrats, who have aggressively pushed for expanding early voting under the argument that it allows for those who can’t take time off from work or their obligations on Election Day to still participate.
Sensing that impending criticism, Trump mocked opponents who he said will argue that he “is criticizing the foundations of our country.”
“Give me a break,” Trump said.
Trump was speaking on behalf of John Kennedy, who is running in Saturday’s runoff election. He is facing Democrat Foster Campbell in the race to replace retiring Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).