Donald Trump cast his ballot Wednesday as part of early voting for the Florida primary Aug. 20, The Hill reported.
The former president did so even as he has urged one-day voting as part of his election campaign and has disputed the reliability of early voting.
"We have a level of enthusiasm that nobody's seen before," Trump said as he voted in Palm Beach. "They want to make America great again. That's what's happening. We're going to make it great again. Right now, we're in a failing nation."
The early voting period for Florida's primary, which will decide state and congressional nominees, began Aug. 10 and ends Aug. 17.
Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the reliability of mail-in ballots and early voting since he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, claiming widespread voter fraud.
Trump has insisted on the campaign trail this year, including at a recent rally in Atlanta, that "I will secure our elections. Our goal will be one-day voting with paper ballots, proof of citizenship and voter ID."
Republicans tend to vote in greater numbers on Election Day, while Democrats have in recent years cast their ballots more by mail and through early voting, according to The Hill.
The Republican National Committee and party officials have for years attempted to convince their supporters to accept early voting through "bank the vote" programs and other outreach efforts, including at last month's GOP convention, where a video message of Trump encouraging backers to cast their ballot by whatever method they chose played each night in the arena.
"Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail or in person, we're going to protect the vote," the former president said in a recorded message. "That's the most important thing we have to do."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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