The RNC is launching a massive effort to monitor the vote. Critics say this threatens to undermine trust

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan – The Republican National Committee on Friday launched a decisive statewide initiative to mobilize nearly 100,000 polling place monitors, election workers and lawyers to serve as “election integrity” watchdogs in November — an effort that immediately raised concerns that it could lead to to harassment of election officials and undermine confidence in voting.

The RNC says its plan will help voters have faith in the electoral process and ensure that their votes matter. However, as former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to spread False claims that the 2020 elections were marked by widespread fraudThe effort also sets the stage for a repeat of Trump’s efforts to undermine the results – a strategy that ultimately led to the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol.

Trump’s allies have already signaled that they may not accept the results if he loses to President Joe Biden.

The RNC he said His new effort will focus on stopping “Democratic attempts to bend the rules.” The party will deploy monitors to observe every step of the electoral process, create hotlines for election observers to report perceived problems, and escalate these issues through legal action.

“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, a city in a suburban county that is crucial to the election. victory. Michigan. “We can never go back and repeat 2020, but we can learn the lessons of 2020.”

She said most of the RNC is focused right now 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 election monitors, and many election officials in presidential swing states said they feel this kind of transparency and involvement is one of the best ways to help skeptics feel confident in the elections. Lots of safeguards built in. the electoral process.

However, the language surrounding the RNC effort and the way it is being implemented could present broader concerns if it evolves beyond normal political party organization, said David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department attorney who serves as executive director of the Center for Electoral Innovation and Research.

“Doing it in a way that feeds your voters the idea that the election will be stolen, that prepares them to be furious if your candidate loses, that could be very dangerous,” Becker said.

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Associated Press writers Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta, Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report. Swenson reported from New York.

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