Dem
52
Ties
1
GOP
47
Each party has a go-to lawyer for elections. For the Democrats it is Marc Elias. For the Republicans, it is Ben Ginsberg. Ginsberg was national counsel for the Bush-Cheney campaign twice and was the lead lawyer in the Florida 2000 recount fiasco. He has also worked for the RNC, the NRSC, the NRCC, the Swift Boat Veterans, and various other Republican groups. There is no doubt which team he is on. And he is very good at what he does.
He has now commented on Donald Trump's XO that is intended to kill off mail-in voting and which the Supreme Court seems likely to uphold when the case is heard on the merits—even though there is absolutely no legal or constitutional basis for the XO. Ginsberg said: "One thing is, I think you're going to see some blowback from Republicans in the coming weeks, because after all, Republicans are the older party and older folks like to vote by mail." Ginsberg also said: "And certainly vote-by-mail is important to people in rural areas. And thanks to Donald Trump, there are many more low-propensity voters in the Republican Party."
On Monday he added, "Republican operatives in the states know that putting up those barriers to that part of the Republican base makes Republican turnout less likely. So this is kind of a flawed political strategy wrapped in a rather vocally charged policy from the president."
Ginsberg obviously knows that the XO is patently illegal but that doesn't seem to bother him as much as the fact that it may actually hurt Republicans more than Democrats. A young Democrat in a city who doesn't get the absentee ballot he or she applied for can probably get to the polling place on Election Day if need be. An older person who has mobility issues and who lives in a rural area may not be able to do that, or may think it isn't worth the trouble. Marginal Republicans, who saved the day for Trump in 2024, may also think that standing in line to vote is just too much trouble, particularly when their Dear Leader is not on the ballot.
Despite Ginsberg's comments, Trump is pushing ahead with the legal process (undoubtedly against Ginsberg's better judgment) to get the judge's order blocking the XO lifted. If the process goes on another 3 weeks, voting will already have started in some states. Having the rules change after voting has started will be a humongous mess and although Ginsberg is somewhat retired, his services will be badly needed to help Trump sort it all out. (V)