New Jersey was 'woefully unprepared' to handle mail-in ballots, says state GOP chairman

President Trump has pointed to a special May election in New Jersey's third-largest city, where the Passaic County Board of Elections said voter fraud was committed and thousands of mail-in ballots were rejected, as proof that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.

Pointing to Paterson's city council election on May 12, ordered by Gov. Phil Murphy due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump tweeted on June 28: "Bad things happen with mail-ins. Just look at special election in [Paterson], N.J. 19% of ballots a fraud!"

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"There were all sorts of problems from ballots being left in apartment complex foyers, to ballots being bundled and delivered, to people getting ballots that hadn't applied for them," New Jersey Republican Party Chairman Doug Steinhardt told "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday.

"There was no doubt that New Jersey's vote by mail process was wrought with perils," Steinhardt added.

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Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, a Democrat and political rival of those charged with voter fraud, told the Washington Post that Trump is "not telling the entire truth, but then again, he's Donald Trump," stating that not all ballots thrown out were due to fraud.

Slamming Murphy's "weak leadership and bad judgment," Steinhardt said "the state was woefully unprepared to handle the complexities of an all vote by mail election."

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Donna McDaniel warned on July 30, "a rushed transition to mail-in voting will be a disaster...in Paterson, N.J. nearly 20% of mail-in ballots were disqualified."

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Trump's reelection campaign, the RNC, and the Nevada Republican Party are suing the state over a newly passed bill that expands mail-in voting for the November general election by claiming it is unconstitutional and "makes voter fraud and other ineligible voting inevitable."