OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said during an interview earlier this week that her organization has been ramping up in preparation for the coming election cycle, to heavily monitor key polling centers, beginning with early voting in many parts of the country and remaining vigilant up to and through the November election.
In an interview with Newsmax TV host Eric Bolling on Tuesday, the former president’s daughter-in-law declared: “We all know 2020 wasn’t on the up and up.” She did not clarify what she meant specifically, but reports during the 2020 election indicated problems at some polling spots, such as when workers blocked windows at a facility in Detroit.
However, courts ruled that none of the many post-2020 election allegations and legal challenges were valid.
In any event, Lara Trump was speaking in the context of ensuring that the RNC was as prepared as the Democratic National Committee in terms of ensuring they had enough poll watchers and attorneys should any problems arise. She also told Bolling that the RNC had just won a key election integrity case in Pennsylvania and was involved in similar actions in dozens of cases around the country.
For instance, she told Bolling that the RNC has 100,000 poll workers prepared to “count how many ballots come in and how many ballots come out of every single polling location.” And she said the organization was prepared to take on, legally, anyone believed to be “cheating.”
“We need to make clear: if we catch you cheating — and we’re looking for you out there to cheat — we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law,” she added. “We need to ensure that people understand the severity of this, and they are not even tempted by the other side to do something nefarious.”
WATCH:
RNC co-chair Lara Trump lays out the party's awesome election integrity strategy for this year, beginning with (and this is important) EARLY voting. pic.twitter.com/grm3Ej2QPg
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) April 25, 2024
The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision earlier this month that could significantly influence election outcomes in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, as well as other battleground states, marking a notable win for Republicans who have been advocating for voter integrity measures.
The court overturned a federal district court’s order and ruled in favor of the RNC regarding signature verification for mail-in voting in the “crucial” state.
Per NPR, the case was about whether mail-in ballots with an incorrect or no date at all under the voter’s signature should be counted.
Democrats argued that the Materiality Provision, as outlined in Section (a)(2)(B) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, should apply, thereby asserting that the ballots should be counted.
The Materiality Provision prohibits denial of the right to vote because of an “error or omission” on paperwork “related to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting,” if the mistake is “not material in determining whether [an] individual is qualified” to vote.
The RNC responded by contending that enforcing the date requirement on ballots “does not impinge on the right to vote” because the Materiality Provision “only prohibits immaterial requirements affecting the qualification and registration of a voter,” not other, more specific requirements for casting a ballot, The Daily Wire reported.
All three of the appeals court judges were appointed by Democrats; two of the three agreed with Republicans, writing, in part:
States have separate bodies of rules for separate stages of the voting process. One stage, voter qualification, deals with who votes. To register and thus be authorized to vote, applicants must follow prescribed steps and meet certain requirements. It’s like obtaining a license to drive. Another stage deals with how ballots are cast by those previously authorized to vote, which is governed by a different set of rules. To cast a ballot that is valid and will be counted, all qualified voters must abide by certain requirements, just like those authorized to drive must obey the State’s traffic laws like everyone else.
The Materiality Provision is an important federal overlay on state election requirements during the “who” stage: voter qualification. It prohibits States from denying an applicant the right to vote based on an error or omission in paperwork involving his application if that mistake is immaterial in determining whether he is qualified to vote. That is, it is triggered when conduct or laws restrict who may vote. But it leaves it to the States to decide how qualified voters must cast a valid ballot. Pennsylvania has made one such rule—the date requirement—mandatory. The federal Materiality Provision, in our view, does not interfere.
