Republicans Plan to Emphasize Disproved Election Fraud Claims

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has published a recent internal report that suggests building a stable framework in each state to enhance its efforts toward ensuring the integrity of elections. This proposal stems from the Republican relief of rampant fraud and misconduct in the electoral process, which leads to the selection of leaders in the country. Furthermore, the goal is to address these perceptions within the GOP and to reinforce the legitimacy of elections.

To address concerns within the Republican party of rampant fraud and abuse in the election process, the Republican National Committee has put forth a new internal report recommending the creation of a permanent infrastructure in every state to enhance election integrity.#RNC pic.twitter.com/KVHUediGzw

— News Live (@NewsLiveFree) February 1, 2023

Several news agencies, such as Fox News, obtained the report prepared by the “National Election Integrity Team” of the Republican National Committee. The report highlights the extent to which Republicans persist in propagating the false allegations of former Republican President Donald Trump that the Democratic Party and their associates manipulated the outcome of the 2020 general elections, leading to his defeat.

According to the report, the RNC proposes creating a substantial new party structure, including state-level “election integrity officers” and comprehensive training programs for observers and poll workers. Furthermore, this proposal is based on the unfounded claims that the Democratic Party has implemented election methods that enable fraudulent claims. The Democratic Party has put in place election methods that facilitate fraudulent voting. The report suggests that this new party organization will be built to address these unverified allegations.

Cost of GOP’s Obsession with Election Fraud

The report also acknowledged that the Republican Party’s fixation on election fraud had resulted in a loss for the party, particularly in 2021, when the lack of confidence in the election process led to a decrease in Republican voter turnout during two United States Senate runoff elections in Georgia, resulting in the party losing its Senate majority. Additionally, the report concludes that the Republican Party should continue to build upon the initiatives initiated after the election setback.

Rather than dispelling false information regarding fraud, the report suggests that the party should focus on hiring staff and volunteers to observe elections and establish more forceful legal tactics to hold elected officials responsible for any law violations. The aim is to restore the trust of Republicans in the election process.

The RNC report takes credit for “reviving Republican trust in the election process” in 2022 by constructing the biggest and most thoroughly trained election integrity organization in the Republican Party’s history. According to the report, having Republicans involved in the election infrastructure will uncover corrupt practices and provide an opportunity to identify and resolve any issues. The report states that by being close to the election process, Republicans will be better equipped to see and fix problems instead of completely abstaining from participating in elections.

As proof of its success, the report cites the turnout in a recent U.S. Senate runoff election in Georgia between Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael G. Warnock. However, the report fails to mention that Walker, who strongly believed that Trump was denied victory, lost the runoff election. Additionally, the report needs to mention that candidates who rejected the election results, running for statewide office in several key battleground states, also lost their races in the previous year.

Dismissal of Election Fraud Claims and RNC Statement on Report

Evidence shows that voter fraud is uncommon in America. Numerous judges, including several whom Republicans or Trump, nominated, ruled against allegations of fraud affecting the 2020 election. The RNC released a statement calling the report a preliminary document only, incorporating input from a small number of RNC staff members. The RNC added that it would be working with its Election Integrity Committee to expand the report and incorporate lessons learned from its program in the 2021-2022 cycle, with official findings to be made public in the coming months.

The report details what it calls an “ongoing attack by the Democrats to manipulate elections,” making unsupported claims that Democrats are seeking to implement “unmonitored drop boxes” and “voting vans” to send ballots or voting materials to ineligible voters and to exclude Republicans from participating as poll workers or monitors. The report claims that the Democrats have constructed a lasting setup to gain an edge in every aspect of election management. It mentions the Democrats’ emphasis on litigation to alter election law, voter registration endeavors, and organizational strength in executing vote-by-mail campaigns.

Republican Adoption of Early and Mail Voting

The report, however, does not touch upon the fact that Republicans need to adopt early voting and mail voting, as highlighted by many within the party after their underperformance in the 2022 elections. This is because Democrats have an advantage in these areas. In an interview at the RNC meeting, John Fredericks, a right-wing talk radio host widely known among supporters of Trump, stated that allowing Democrats to vote for 50 days while restricting Republicans to voting in a single day is a flawed strategy, which is a contributing factor to the party’s losses in elections.

A team of five employees created the report from the RNC, one of whom, Thomas Lane, was involved in the Trump campaign’s effort to install alternate electors in seven states during the 2020 Presidential election. Lane has been implicated in subpoenas and had his home searched by the FBI as part of their investigation into this effort.

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