Citing 'problems' receiving a ballot, Trump campaign manager acknowledges he didn't vote in '16

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's campaign manager acknowledged Friday that he did not vote for his boss in the 2016 election – or vote at all – citing problems receiving his absentee ballot while working on the campaign in New York.

Brad Parscale, then a Texas resident, oversaw Trump's digital operation in 2016 and became the reelection campaign manager in 2018. Election documents in Texas reviewed by CBS News showed that Parscale voted in the 2016 primary but not in the November election.  

"In 2016, I was in New York working to elect Donald Trump and encountered a series of problems receiving my absentee ballot from Texas and missed the deadline," Parscale said in a statement, arguing that the issues underscored problems with mail-in voting.

Trump has complained about Democratic proposals to increase the availability of mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing it is more susceptible to fraud.  

"There’s a vast difference between voting absentee by mail when you can’t get to the polls on election day versus mailing every registered voter a ballot, even those who didn’t request one," Parscale said. "The media thinks they’re playing ‘gotcha’ by purposefully ignoring that difference."

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