GOP, Dems Ramp Up Election Integrity Fight, Deploying Poll Watchers and Teams of Lawyers Nationwide
In a presidential race expected to end with a razor-thin margin, the Republican National Committee is focused on what it calls an election integrity battle plan. RNC Co-Chairman Lara Trump tells CBN News that Republicans aren't playing around in 2024.
"We want to make sure that we send a message loud and clear out there, that if you're a person who is willing to cheat in our elections, we will find you, we'll track you down, and we'll prosecute you to the full extent of the law," she says.
They don't want a repeat of 2020, an election they believe had signs of mischief throughout. This time, their team of 500 lawyers across the battleground states filed 125 lawsuits in 25 states focused on cleaner voter rolls, and more I.D. requirements just to name a few. They've also recruited more than 200,000 volunteers to serve as on-site election poll watchers.
"They're going through training," RNC Chairman Michael Whatley tells CBN News. "We're going to be able to deploy them all across the country as poll observers to make sure that we are in the room whenever a vote is being cast or counted."
So how will it work exactly? "If something is out of sorts, somebody that's not on the voter rolls comes in, their name's not on the list, and you give them a ballot anyway, well, we'll need to flag that right?" Whatley says. "If somebody comes in and votes, tries to vote again, or if there's any other discrepancy that comes up, and then we teach them, how do you raise the flag?"
Democrats contend Republicans are not being honest about their real intent. "People who vote like 99.9999% are voting legally," says former Obama Speechwriter Jon Favreau. "So when Republicans often talk about election integrity, it's just an excuse to restrict people from voting."
Democrats will also have tens of thousands of poll watchers out in force along with roughly 400 lawyers who have been preparing for a legal battle ever since Trump left office. That's because the party's bigger concern is possible legal battles after Election Day.
"As we prepare for 2024, Donald Trump is plotting his next crime," says Marc Elias, who is instrumental in leading the Democrats' legal effort. "We know it will involve election interference. We know it will involve efforts to prevent the will of the voters from having its day."
The RNC Chairman shares the feeling that what happens at the polls will probably be settled in court. There could be litigation for 30 to 60 days after Election Day.
So how concerned is he? "Very concerned," Whatley tells CBN News. "And we have built up our legal teams all across the country."
Lara Trump doesn't believe it will come to that. "I believe that if we have a free, fair and transparent election, Donald Trump will be victorious on November 5. I feel like we're going to shut it down early because I think it's going to be such a huge vote for him that we're not even going to wait until the wee hours of the morning for people to call it. It will be an early call."
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