MILWAUKEE – Former President Donald Trump and other Republican officials in Minnesota and the U.S. cast doubt on the legitimacy of early voting four years ago. Now, early and mail-in voting is a key part of their strategy to get Trump elected a second time.

The Republican National Committee is urging conservatives to "bank your vote" and offering resources on how to vote early by mail or in person. "The entire GOP is counting on you to vote early in person or by mail," the RNC's Minnesota-specific website reads.

Before making his entrance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, Trump delivered a video address to delegates telling them, "We must use every appropriate tool available to beat the Democrats ... whether you vote early, absentee by mail or in person."

AK Kamara, one of Minnesota's delegates to the RNC, said conservatives need to go "toe to toe" with Democrats who've embraced early voting. While the 40-year-old from Forest Lake said he wishes Minnesota had stricter voting laws, he encouraged Republican voters to make the most of the current system.

"We need to be on the same level as the Democrats. Their machine is so much more effective than us," Kamara said. "Once we get power, then maybe we can make it one-day paper ballots unless you're infirmed or you are overseas."

The GOP's promotion of early voting this cycle appears to be more of a strategy than a change of heart. RNC delegates on Monday overwhelmingly approved a new party platform, endorsed by Trump, that calls for the U.S. to return to same-day voting, use "highly sophisticated" paper ballots and implement voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements.

Early voting has become more popular in Minnesota over the years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota accepted 1.9 million absentee ballots in the 2020 general election. That year, Trump and his allies sought to blame his election loss to President Joe Biden on the unprecedented number of mail-in ballots.

In the 2022 midterm elections, with fewer people concerned about the virus, Minnesota accepted about 673,000 absentee ballots.

Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann, who's also an RNC delegate, said in a recent interview that Republicans have historically been skeptical of early voting, preferring to cast their ballots on Election Day. This year, the state party is working with local county GOP chapters to get the word out about the importance of voting early, Hann said. He hopes doing so will boost conservative turnout across the state.

"If it's not close, they can't cheat," Hann said of Democrats, echoing Trump's baseless accusation.

Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin said he doubts the GOP's early voting push will resonate with conservative voters. Top Republicans "poisoned the well" with unfounded claims of election fraud four years ago, Martin said, and the party's mixed message of promoting early voting this year while calling for future restrictions may sow further confusion.

"I don't know how you put the genie back in the bottle when you spent years essentially saying that this is just a way for people to rig elections and people shouldn't participate," he said.

Martin said early voting shouldn't be a partisan issue. It's about democracy and making voting more accessible, he said.

But Martin said early voting is also helpful for Minnesota political campaigns: When someone submits their ballot before Election Day, political parties and campaigns receive that information and can pivot their outreach to those who haven't voted.

"For us, it's just a matter of being able to bring efficiency to our turnout operations, to talk to the voters who still haven't voted," Martin said. "It's a really important part of our operation."

Jennifer DeJournett has been traveling across Minnesota over the past year to educate conservative voters about early and absentee voting. The GOP political operative serves as state executive director for American Majority, a group that trains conservative activists and candidates.

DeJournett said she's emphasized the strategic advantage of early voting to Minnesota conservatives, telling them "they would be actually helping a candidate by getting out of the way so candidates could focus on getting more voters."

She said she's had some tough conversations with conservatives who believe early and absentee voting is prone to fraud, as Trump has claimed. But DeJournett said she's been able to dispel some of those beliefs by providing real data and insights from the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office.

"Just being accurate, fair and truthful really made a difference," she said. "When people trust the system and they vote, they believe the outcome, and that's good for democracy."