US Attorney General levels broadside on voting by mail

PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. Attorney General William Barr delivered a broadside attack on mail-in voting Thursday, attacking the process used by many Americans — including the vast majority of Arizonans — as prone to undue influence and coercion.

The Republican also said that mail-in ballots impinge on the historic American tradition of the secret ballot, an attack refuted by Arizona and other states that allow widespread mail-in balloting.

Barr was in Phoenix to announce a crackdown on methamphetamine trafficking that netted $43 million in cash seizures, more than 28,000 pounds of the illicit stimulant, more than 1,800 arrests and the seizure of hundreds of guns. The operation targeted Mexican cartels that smuggled drugs to major U.S. cities and then distributed them nationwide.

But Barr spent the majority of his time answering questions unrelated to the drug busts and instead on the unrest around the nation tied to racial injustice, his department’s intervention in a private lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of defamation and on mail-in voting.

His attack on mail voting focused on efforts by some states, including Nevada, to mail ballots to all registered voters as the coronavirus pandemic creates fears about in-person voting. The Trump campaign is suing to block a law passed by the Democratic-led Legislature in July.

But in many ways his attack was broader, hitting even states like Arizona, which allows anyone to ask for and receive a mail-in ballot. In the August primary, about 90% of voters cast ballots by mail or at early voting centers. About 75% are permanent early voters and receive a mail ballot each election.

His comments follow Trump’s attacks on early voting and his claims without proof that there could be widespread voter fraud in November. That’s despite what officials in Arizona and other...