BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) � The Republican National Committee on Friday
launched a swing state initiative to mobilize thousands of polling place
monitors, poll workers and attorneys to serve as �election integrity�
watchdogs in November � an effort that immediately drew concerns that it
could lead to harassment of election workers and undermine trust in the
vote.
The RNC says its plan will help voters have faith in the electoral process
and ensure their votes matter. Yet, as former President Donald Trump and
his allies continue to spread false claims that the 2020 election was
marred by widespread fraud, the effort also sets the stage for a repeat of
Trump�s efforts to undermine the results � a gambit that ultimately led to
the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump allies already have signaled that they might not accept the results
if he loses to President Joe Biden.
The RNC has said its new effort will focus on stopping �Democrat attempts
to circumvent the rules.� The party will deploy monitors to observe every
step of the election process, create hotlines for poll watchers to report
perceived problems and escalate those issues by taking legal action.
The national party says it hopes to recruit 100,000 volunteers � a number
some election experts have said would be difficult to achieve even in a
high-profile presidential election year.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said Friday that the committee will place
election integrity directors in 15 states, including the most hotly
contested battlegrounds, and work with state parties to set up similar
programs in the other states.
�What we need to ensure is integrity in our electoral process,� RNC Co-
chair Lara Trump, the former president�s daughter-in-law, said during the
kickoff event in Bloomfield Hills, in a suburban county that is crucial
for winning Michigan. �We can never go back and repeat 2020, but we can
learn the lessons from 2020.�
She said most of the RNC is currently focused on the committee�s election
integrity program, which she called �one of its kind.�
Both parties have a long history of organizing supporters to serve as poll
monitors, and the Democratic National Committee said it plans its own
volunteer recruitment effort. Several election officials in presidential
swing states said they feel this kind of transparency and engagement is
one of the best ways to help skeptics feel confident in the many
safeguards baked into the election process.
Yet the language surrounding the RNC�s effort and how it�s being
implemented could present broader concerns should it evolve beyond normal
political party organizing, said David Becker, a former U.S. Justice
Department lawyer who serves as executive director of the Center for
Election Innovation and Research.
�To do it in a way that feeds your voters with the idea that the election
is going to be stolen, that prepares them to be angry if their candidate
loses � that can be very dangerous,� Becker said.
Trump pushed false claims of election fraud in 2016 and 2020 and has
continued to predict a rigged election if he loses this year. During a
rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, he said of Democrats, �The only way they can
beat us is to cheat.�
�Don�t let them cheat,� he said. �Don�t let them do anything.�
RNC leadership � which Trump handpicked in a major overhaul of the
committee earlier this year � has followed his lead in forecasting the
potential for foul play in this year�s election. Lara Trump qualified her
answer on CNN earlier this month when asked if she�d accept the results.
�I can tell you, yes, we will accept the results of this election if we
feel that it is free, fair and transparent,� she said. �And we are working
overtime to ensure that indeed that happens.�
Asked Friday whether the committee planned to challenge the election
certification process in any swing states Trump might narrowly lose,
Whatley said, �We�re not going to cross any of those bridges right now.�
For decades, the RNC was limited in its ability to coordinate poll
watching and other election integrity activities by a federal court
consent decree established to stop Republican-backed voter intimidation
efforts. The decree was lifted in 2018.
The launch of the RNC initiative comes as the GOP faces a significant
disadvantage compared to Democrats in traditional political infrastructure
on the ground in key states, such as campaign offices, community centers
and canvassers. Biden�s campaign and his allies on the Democratic National
Committee have opened hundreds of campaign offices nationwide, while
Republican officials in many cases are still waiting for the Trump
campaign and the RNC to engage.
DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd said the DNC, �alongside our partners at the
state and local level, won�t let MAGA Republicans get away with these
baseless attacks on our democracy, and we will continue to use every tool
at our disposal to ensure that all Americans can make their voice heard at
the ballot box.�
The RNC�s kickoff event took place at the headquarters of the Oakland
County GOP, one of Michigan�s most influential local parties. Oakland
County is an affluent Detroit suburb that for decades was one of
Michigan�s premier bellwether counties.
While the county holds the largest number of Republican voters in the
state, it has shifted increasingly Democratic in recent years, and Donald
Trump has lost the county in both of his previous campaigns.
The RNC has focused many of its challenges ahead of the election in
Michigan, a state Trump narrowly won in 2016 but lost to Biden in 2020. A
review by Republican lawmakers found there was no widespread fraud in that
year�s election and that Biden legitimately won the state. That aligns
with reviews, recounts and audits in the other battleground states where
Trump disputed his loss, all of which affirmed Biden�s victory.
Despite those facts, conspiracy theories about voting and election fraud
erupted in Detroit, the state�s most populous city, when poll watchers and
challengers grew confrontational at the city�s downtown convention center
where ballots were brought and counted.
On Friday, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey called that behavior
unacceptable four years ago and said there won�t be a repeat this year.
�You weren�t successful when we didn�t expect you in 2020. Now that we
expect you, well, I�m not concerned at all,� she told the AP on Friday.
�Detroiters don�t play. We�re tired of being picked on.�
She said the state�s new law allowing one poll watcher per eight poll
workers will be enforced by federal agents and state and local law
enforcement.
After Friday�s kickoff in Michigan, the RNC�s �Protect Your Vote� tour
will hold events in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, with more
battleground state visits to follow.
Democrats and their allies in those states questioned Republicans�
motives, pointing out that their repeated lies about elections have been a
driving force in undermining public trust.
North Carolina state Rep. Allison Dahle, the ranking Democrat on the House
election law committee, said Republicans in her state should have focused
on giving more resources to the State Board of Elections, including hiring
staff, if they were so concerned about discouraging fraud.
�Voters would have more confidence in elections if Republicans stopped
lying about them,� said Adam Bonin, a Philadelphia-based lawyer who has
represented the Democratic Party and its candidates in high-profile
election cases.
https://apnews.com/article/rnc-election-monitoring-trump-republicans-voter-fraud-997947656e0b5d5d16cc4353bd726452
The RNC is launching a massive effort to monitor voting. Cheaters say it threatens to undermine trust