On Wednesday afternoon, I attended an “Election Integrity Call” hosted by the RNC and the Trump campaign. Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, spoke first. She explained that they were hosting the call today to talk about large victories in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
They also wanted to describe the RNC’s ongoing fight and campaign to ensure free and fair elections. Leavitt referred to the Trump supporter who was arrested in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Monday and whose voters were turned away in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. She also noted that 30 minutes before the call they had just won the lawsuit in Bucks County. She said more than 130 election integrity lawsuits have been filed this cycle with the goal of making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. She also noted Republicans’ early voting numbers in key states across the country and reiterated that her focus remains on securing the vote for all Americans.
Pennsylvania’s GOP scores major victory preventing Democrats from interfering in early voting
Trump’s campaign lawsuit over voter suppression in major swing state
GOP voter in PA is arrested for trying to stop election officials from voter suppression
Also participating in the call were RNC Chairman Michael Whatley, co-chair Lara Trump and outside counsel Bill McGinley. Whatley noted that since he was elected to the RNC and Trump in March, the RNC’s top two priorities have been reaching voters and protecting the ballot. Election integrity is a top priority and they work every day to ensure a fair, true, secure and clear election. They have an extensive election integrity team with over 230,000 volunteers and attorneys who have signed up and are currently pursuing legal training as election monitors and election monitors. They filed 135 lawsuits. They used the area codes to test their operations.
They have focused on four main grounds for litigation: 1) Only American citizens can vote; 2) voter ID should be required everywhere; 3) States should immaculate up their voter rolls; 4) States with mail-in voting should have basic protections in place.
Whatley also spoke about Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling that allowed Gov. Glenn Youngkin to remove non-citizens in Virginia from the rolls. He expressed surprise that the Biden-Harris administration chose to mobilize the DOJ to pursue this case. He confirmed that the RNC supported Youngkin in this case.
NEW: Supreme Court delivers major victory to Virginia on election integrity, Biden’s DOJ hardest hit
He emphasized that American elections should be decided by Americans and that they want to protect the right to vote of all Americans.
They are focused on ensuring that Pennsylvania voters can cast their ballots freely. In the Bucks County case, they ran into a situation where they found election officials turning people away. They first sent a letter to the Commonwealth Minister, who issued a directive. Then they filed the lawsuit in Bucks County because voters were being turned away as early as 2:30 p.m. You won this lawsuit. Bucks County has extended primary day voting until November 1st. Whatley called this a groundbreaking victory. He emphasized that they want a fair election not just for Republican voters, but for everyone all voters.
Lara Trump agreed that election integrity is a top priority. She stated that her operations were functioning as planned and intended. You want people to feel comfortable voting. She added that it is vital that we trust our electoral process regardless of party. Their efforts will continue throughout the election.
She noted that they have invited the DNC to join their push for election integrity but have not yet received a response. She also added that it is vital to clearly communicate that election integrity is taken seriously and that American elections can be trusted.
There was a miniature question and answer session.
The New York Post’s Diana Glebova asked Whatley and Trump. How concerned is the RNC that the election results will be fair given what we have seen so far. Whatley says they feel like they have an infrastructure in place to work with local authorities and monitor things as they move forward. They have seen significant improvements in the electoral system and remain cautiously hopeful. According to Trump, they are not waiting for anything. So far they have felt good. They are confident they will report results on November 5th. They are confident that they have assembled the right team. Whatley added that of the over 130 lawsuits filed, they have won the huge majority. He noted that the courts appear to agree that the basic safeguards they are attempting to introduce are appropriate and lawful.
ABC News’ Olivia Rubin asked about the Pennsylvania Supreme Court case – how vital they think it is to the overall strategy and why they decided to appeal. She also asked how involved Donald Trump was personally in the legal strategy.
PA Supreme Court upholds appeals decision overtaking absentee voters with provisional ballots
McGinley pointed out that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court case is extremely vital because the ballots will be downgraded to provisional status, and that is not appropriate. Pennsylvania should follow the law. He noted that the system is designed to detect problems early. They want Pennsylvania to comply with the provisional ballot law. Regarding the situation in Bucks County, they sent a letter to the Secretary of the Commonwealth asking him to do the right thing, and when officials failed to do so, they filed a lawsuit. The judge ruled in her favor. Leavitt added that the former president’s message is of course consistent with the RNC’s message and that they want to make it too large to be manipulated. He put Whatley and Lara Trump in charge because he believes in them.
A third reporter, whose name I didn’t catch, noted that Donald Trump referred to the situation in Bucks County as “voter suppression.” He asked whether this was disproportionate or only affected Republicans. Whatley says telling people they have to go when it’s legal for them to vote is problematic. He added that he didn’t know and didn’t care whether this disproportionately affected Republicans or Democrats. There were legal voters who were told to leave. He said it was good to see the court agreed with them and provided relief.
McGinley stated that voters relied on what Bucks County officials told them about eligibility, but officials failed to honor that commitment to voters. Other districts kept their offices open at all times. When administrators make a commitment, they must honor that commitment. He noted that the ruling found that Bucks County violated Pennsylvania election law. He added that these voters deserve the same treatment as senior officials who bragged about being able to vote early – they should be entitled to the same process, and it should be a safe and sound and clear process. McGinley argued that if voters made sacrifices to cast their ballots during the workweek, officials should honor their commitment. He added that they will continue to monitor the situation until election day.
Lara Trump added that the RNC is very proud to fight for the right of every American to vote and will continue to fight for it and for free, fair and clear elections.
