History Buff: The recent executive action mirrors the chaos of the 1876 Hayes-Tilden election, where postal ballot disputes nearly toppled the Republic.
The trump mail-in voting order, signed late Tuesday, echoes the contested 1876 election where a flood of disputed absentee ballots from Florida and Louisiana sparked a constitutional crisis, requiring a backroom deal to choose a president. Historians note the move to restrict mail ballots is a direct replay of the 'compromise of 1877' playbook, only this time without the bipartisan compromise.