The Republican National Committee and Trump campaign have announced plans to send thousands of “poll watchers” to monitor voters.
In a Friday announcement, the RNC vowed to deploy “over 100,000 dedicated volunteers and attorneys deployed across every battleground state.” The announcement claims that volunteers will report irregularities and “provide rapid response services to resolve the issue.”
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley described the move, which includes sending lawyers to ballot processing sites, as “unprecedented.”
Donald Trump said in the statement that “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.”
According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, poll monitors should “observe and monitor the election, without violating voter privacy or disrupting the election,” not work towards a certain outcome.
The announcement comes after a 2018 end to a consent decree stemming from a settlement over voter suppression barring the RNC from deploying extensive ‘ballot security’ measures, including sending armed monitors to intimidate Black and Latino voters.
In 2022, Clean Elections USA, a group founded by 2020 election denier and guest on Steve Bannon’s podcast Melody Jennings, sent armed ‘poll watchers’ donning tactical gear to Arizona mail-in ballot drop boxes before a judge ordered them to stop. Similar tactics are expected in November in an election which could see record levels of threats against voters and poll workers.
