On Tuesday morning President Trump tweeted his support for voters who may have had a change of heart after early voting, following reports that the phrase “Can I Change My Vote” had been trending on Google.
The president said he believed that those changed votes would be for him, following his second debate against Joe Biden, and urged supporters to “Go do it.”
Was the Phrase Really Trending?
Yes, according to Google Trends, searches for phrases questioning whether votes can be changed have gone up in the wake of the last debate, and did so once again following the president’s tweet this morning.
As Newsweek reported: “searches for "can I change my vote after voting" have gone up by 500 percent over the last day in the United States, while searches for "can I change my vote after mail in" have increased 140 percent in that period. The search "how can I change my vote" was up 80 percent in the last day. Searches for "can I change my vote" spiked sharply after the president's tweet.”
Is It Possible to Change Your Vote?
It depends on what state you’re in. According to CNN, in states like Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Arizona, voters looking to change their ballots are out of luck. However, in several of the most contentious states in this presidential election, such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, voters are allowed to change their early ballots. In Wisconsin, you can reportedly change your mind up to 3 times before your official ballot is cast and counted.
However, CNN also points out that procedures for changing ballots differ among states, and many election-related websites do not make this information easy to find. The process is also arduous — voters who want to change their ballots in most states must show up at the polls on Election Day, have their prior vote nullified, and re-vote in-person to ensure that only the new vote is counted.
Not the First Time Trump Has Encouraged Voters to Reconsider:
This is not the first time Trump has encouraged voters with “buyer’s remorse” to change their votes. In 2016, he tweeted out a similar sentiment about Hillary Clinton.
