Twitter on Thursday masked a pair of tweets from President Trump for “encouraging people to potentially vote twice,” which “may be illegal.”
In his tweets, Trump encouraged people to vote in-person at polling stations if their mail-in ballot was not counted.
Trump wrote that people should “go to your Polling Place to see whether or not your Mail In Vote has been Tabulated (Counted)… If it has not been Counted, VOTE.”
But Twitter said it was limiting circulation of Trump’s tweets because voting laws are “are complex, and vary significantly by state.”
The tweets “violated the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity,” the company said.
“Our goal is to prevent people from sharing advice about voting twice, which may be illegal,” Twitter said.
The action follows Facebook on Thursday censoring footage of Trump encouraging people to consider voting in-person if their mail-in ballot wasn’t counted.
Trump’s comments were criticized as potentially condoning voter fraud because some jurisdictions may not have the ability to determine if someone’s mail-in vote counted when they present themselves to vote in-person.
The social networks cracked down on Trump as his administration explores limiting legal immunity for popular web platforms when they act as publishers by censoring or commenting on third-party posts.
Nine states and Washington, DC, will mail ballots to all registered voters due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ballots will be sent to all voters in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state.
Absentee ballot requests are expected to soar in other states.
State policies vary on when a ballot must be received to count. In most states, mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day — and many voters are on edge because mail-delivery timeframes could dictate whether their votes count.
In 18 states and DC, however, officials will count ballots that arrive after Election Day if they are postmarked before polls close.
State policies also vary on whether mail-in ballots count if someone forgets to sign the return envelope, with some allowing the person to correct the error after the election.
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, cited logistical reasons for objecting to Trump’s encouragement of going to polling stations to check the status of their vote.
“The State Board office strongly discourages people from showing up at the polls on Election Day to check whether their absentee ballot was counted,” she said. “That is not necessary, and it would lead to longer lines and the possibility of spreading COVID-19.”