Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party announced a new program in November to supposedly “protect the integrity of the electoral process” by recruiting 100,000 people to serve as election workers to “ensure a sweeping victory.”
In a news release Friday, the Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign said they will deploy volunteers and lawyers to embattled states to observe and report irregularities during voting and vote counting. The RNC will also initiate litigation “any time election officials violate the law,” the report said.
“Having the right people to count ballots is just as important as turning out voters on Election Day,” Trump said in the statement. “Republicans are working together now to protect the vote and ensure a big victory on November 5!”
Poll watchers are usually appointed by political parties to ensure that the process is conducted fairly. They can report concerns to authorities and party officials, but are not allowed to interfere in the election process, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But you have to wonder what Trump, whose efforts to undermine the 2020 election results landed him and his allies in a mountain of legal trouble, means by having the “right people” to count the ballots. After all, his lies about ballot tampering in 2020 led to election workers being deceived and intimidated, and election workers have reported a barrage of violent threats against them in the years since.
Meanwhile, the former president continues to spread fear about the security of the November election, even using apocalyptic language to warn of another potential loss.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
