“They cheat. They cheat.”

At Tuesday’s often-chaotic debate, President Donald Trump continued his ongoing attack on the integrity of this fall’s election where his name is atop the ballot.

At one point, he suggested the U.S. Supreme Court may have to step in. “I’m counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely,” he said.

The president’s comments - the latest example of his apparent effort to raise doubts about mail-in voting and the eventual election results - are raising eyebrows among political scientists and public policy experts.

Prof. Susan Roberts at Davidson College said his tendency to repeat these often misleading or simply inaccurate claims can inspire fear among the public, potentially impacting voter turnout.

She said the comments can leave voters in a quandary: “I don’t want to go to the polls because I’m scared of COVID-19. I’m afraid to vote absentee because what if my ballot isn’t counted? What if I do something incorrectly?”

In North Carolina, more than 1 million people have requested a mail-in ballot, far outpacing past election cycles. Already, roughly 280,000 have returned their ballots and had them accepted, according to a tally by the Old North State Politics blog.

Judith Kelley, the dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, said this uptick in vote by mail is no reason for panic or concern.

“Mail-in ballots are a common practice. A quarter of the population voted mail-in ballots last time around,” she said.

But Kelley did offer a warning about the president’s rhetoric and the potential long-term consequences that diminished public trust in institutions can have on democracy.

“It’s very shortsighted of any party to think that we would be willing to undermine the integrity of our elections for the gain of a political term in office,” she said.

For those looking to vote by mail, the North Carolina State Board of Elections recommends you request a ballot soon and return it quickly. Their advice: put your completed ballot in the mail no later than October 27 - a week before Election Day itself.

The NCSBE has more information about vote by mail on their website, including a tool to track ballots to ensure they arrive.