The Republican National Committee will form a temporary election integrity committee in an effort to instill confidence among voters and inspire transparency in the election process.
The move follows a commission launched by the Republican State Leadership Committee, which focuses on GOP legislators and secretaries of state, that will study reforms to voting rules in order to accommodate the coronavirus pandemic.
“Election integrity is one of the most critical issues we face as a party and as a country,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said. “What we saw this past election — states undoing important safeguards, bypassing the proper legislative processes, and changing election laws in the eleventh hour — was deeply troubling and brought chaos and uncertainty to our sacred democratic processes.”
In the past election cycle, the RNC said it spent $30 million on election protection efforts in battleground states across the country.
The committee’s goal is to fight Democrat-led attempts to change election laws, and it aims to work with state parties on voting policies, including expanding voter ID and ensuring poll watchers are allowed proper observation space.
The committee will be co-chaired by Florida Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters and National Committeewoman for Washington, D.C., Ashley MacLeay. The full committee will consist of 12 men and 12 women, representing the RNC from 21 states and Washington.
One focus of the committee will be providing a way for election officials to be monitored by outside observers, as well as a push to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to absentee and early voting.
“Some states will continue to emphasize election day voting; others will have more expansive mail-in and early voting elements, while still others will elect to do all mail-in ballot,” the election commission’s principles state. “Whatever path a state takes, it should maintain its own codified uniform standards for consistent administration across their counties and local jurisdictions.”
Republican legislatures across the country have been pushing for stricter voting laws since the 2020 election, which saw expansions of mail-in voting and increased access to voting due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Donald Trump and his allies long sowed doubt in the integrity of absentee ballots and alleged for months that the former president was the true victor of the election against now-President Biden. Trump’s legal team was engaged in a number of court fights from November to January, claiming mass voter fraud helped ensure a victory for Biden.
On Wednesday, Trump repeated claims that he was the winner of the 2020 election while paying tribute to the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
“Rush thought we won, and so do I, by the way,” Trump said on Fox News. “I think we won substantially. Rush thought we won. He thought it was over at 10-10:30 p.m. [on election night]. It was over. And a lot of other people feel that way too, but Rush felt that way strongly. Many people do. Many professionals do. And I don’t think that could have happened to a Democrat.”
