US voters set new records for getting their ballots in early ahead of the midterm elections, and the president was among them.
Donald Trump voted “absentee a couple of weeks ago,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told Quartz today (Nov. 6). In doing so, Trump joined an estimated 40 million US voters, up from the 27.5 million who voted early in the 2014 midterms, according to the United States Election Project.
Trump is registered to vote at his Trump Tower penthouse address in midtown Manhattan. Like past presidents and most members of Congress, he votes based on his home address, rather than his current residence in Washington DC.
As in most states, New York voting law (pdf, page 98) requires voters to have resided at their registered address for 30 days before voting, making allowances for military and public servants, among others:
For the purpose of registering and voting no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States, nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this state, or of the United States, or of the high seas.
Melania Trump is also registered to vote from the 721 5th Ave. address A spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about whether she voted.
Election forecasters have been debating what impact early voting will have on the results, with some speculating that it could help Democrats. At least in this case, they’ve got that wrong.