New RNC chair making 'election integrity' a top priority in 2024
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley on the efforts by the RNC ahead of the 2024 general election
Former President Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee say they'll field a massive team of 100,000 lawyers and volunteers in the key battleground states to monitor and possibly challenge the counting of votes in November's election.
In a statement released Friday morning, the Trump campaign and the RNC touted the launch of what they called "the most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation's history."
The program is expected to be a crucial part of what the RNC calls its "commitment to ensuring transparency and fairness in the 2024 elections."
"Election integrity is the foundation of our democracy," recently installed RNC chair Michael Whatley said in a statement. "Through this unprecedented program, we are mobilizing lawyers and volunteers who are committed to preserving the sanctity of our elections."
WATCH: NEW RNC CHAIR SAYS ELECTION INTEGIRTY TOP PRIORITY
Former President Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee say they will field a massive team of 100,000 lawyers and volunteers in the key battleground states to monitor and possibly challenge the counting of votes in November's election. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump campaign and the RNC say that they plan to deploy what they describe as "aggressive attorneys" to monitor voting machine testing, early voting, Election Day voting, mail-in ballot processing, and canvassing, audits and recounts following the election.
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According to the announcement, the plans also call for hotlines in the battleground states, which poll watchers and concerned voters can call to report potential problems.
"Lawyers will guide poll watchers through the appropriate election code and provide clarity on how various issues should be answered, resolved or escalated," according to the announcement. "This system will be operational from the first day of early voting through election day – and afterward if necessary.
Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Michael Whatley, left, serves as RNC chairman. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
A majority of states enforce rules regulating partisan monitoring at polling sites, in order to prevent voter intimidation and obstruction of voting. While partisan monitoring is permitted, it isn't allowed to interfere in the voting process other than to report issues.
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The new program underscores the former president's emphasis on election integrity. For years, Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that his 2020 election loss to President Biden was due to massive voter fraud. And he has been indicted in two criminal cases for his alleged efforts to undermine and overturn those election results.
The former president and his allies have also claimed that Democrats will try to rig the 2024 election.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP/Jeff Dean)
"Having the right people to count the ballots is just as important as turning out voters on Election Day. Republicans are now working together to protect the vote and ensure a big win on November 5th!" Trump said in a statement.
The RNC — under then-chair Ronna McDaniel — announced in October that it planned to recruit and train tens of thousands of poll workers and watches in the crucial battleground states in the 2024 election.
After Trump became the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, he installed Whatley as RNC chair, and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair. Whatley and Lara Trump, as well as RNC chief counsel Charlie Spies, hammered out the new program.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Alex Floyd, responding to the move, charged in a statement to Fox News that "Donald Trump knows he’s running a losing campaign, so he’s working with his handpicked team of election deniers at the RNC to once again lay the groundwork to undermine our democracy and spread baseless lies about a rigged election. Trump is still hung up on his humiliating defeat by over 7 million votes in 2020 – and won’t stop pushing unhinged conspiracy theories about it on the campaign trail – but the American people aren’t interested in Trump’s anti-democratic campaign of personal revenge and retribution."
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