Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker responded Thursday to President Donald Trump's suggestion that the November election should be delayed, saying there's no reason why that should happen.
"We held municipal elections in the Commonwealth over the course of the past few months, and in some cases at a point in time when our positive test rate was north of 10%," the governor said. "We held legislative elections over that period of time."
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In Swampscott, where Baker lives, he said the town changed the way it handled polling, reducing the number of polling places and spreading people out in larger locations.
"It worked," he said. "I think it's critically important that the elections scheduled in fall -- in September and November -- happen."
Trump raised the possibility of delaying the election in a tweet Thursday, as polls show him trailing his likely opponent Joe Biden by double digits. The dates of federal elections are set by Congress, and the Constitution makes no provisions for a delay to the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Baker said the legislation he signed to make mail-in voting possible, especially for seniors and others with a predisposition for illness, was "the right thing to do."
"Look, we've had elections in the midst of world wars, in the midst of the Civil War, at many times in this country during terrible, awful circumstances," he said. "But elections need to happen and there's no reason why this one can't happen when it's supposed to happen in September and November."
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This isn't the first time that Baker, a Republican, has clashed with Trump. He's been unafraid to contradict the president on numerous issues in recent years, most recently in the wake of the nationwide George Floyd protests.
Another Republican governor, New Hampshire's Chris Sununu, issued a similar response to Trump's trial balloon on Twitter on Thursday morning.
"Make no mistake: the election will happen in New Hampshire on November 3rd. End of story," he said. "Our voting system in NH is secure, safe, and reliable. We have done it right 100% of the time for 100 years -- this year will be no different."
Numerous members of New England's mostly Democratic Congressional delegation also weighed in, voicing their support for moving forward with the election as scheduled.
