Republicans devote $20m and 50,000 people to efforts to restrict voting

[babylonsister]

Republicans devote $20m and 50,000 people to efforts to restrict voting

The RNC is seeking people in 15 key states to serve as poll watchers and challenge the registration of voters they believe ineligible
Sam Levine in New York
Published on Mon 18 May 2020 17.14 EDT


Donald Trump’s campaign and national Republicans are pumping millions of dollars into efforts to restrict voting and aggressively fight Democratic efforts to make it easier to cast a ballot during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Republican National Committee has allocated $20m so far to oppose Democratic lawsuits across the country seeking to expand voting. Republicans are also seeking to recruit up to 50,000 people in 15 key states to serve as poll watchers and challenge the registration of voters they believe are ineligible, according to the New York Times.

The 2020 election will be the first time in nearly three decades that national Republicans will be involved in such a program. After the RNC was sued over intimidating minority voters in New Jersey in the early 1980s, they agreed to a federal court order not to engage in “ballot security” efforts. The order expired in 2018.

Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the RNC, accused Democrats of trying to “destroy” the integrity of elections on a conference call with reporters on Monday. Several studies, however, have shown that voter fraud is exceedingly rare.

The new effort is the latest in a high-stakes battle over voting laws that has shaped the last two decades in US politics. Republicans have consistently supported voting restrictions citing voter fraud. Democrats have pushed to make it easier to vote, saying the focus on voter fraud is just an excuse Republicans use to disenfranchise certain Americans, particularly students and minorities.

“It is a sad commentary on the sorry state of the Republican party that, under Trump, its only hope for winning in November is to try to suppress the vote,” said

Marc Elias, an attorney who is representing Democrats in many of their suits across the country.

more...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/18/republicans-devote-20m-and-50000-people-into-efforts-to-restrict-voting

[Gothmog]

1. The party is gearing up to fight this