Why Lara Trump’s Comment About the RNC’s Election Plans Has Many Experts Worried

During a recent interview, Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, raised eyebrows by stating that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has personnel capable of physically managing ballots at election polling sites. Lara, who serves as the co-chair of the RNC, made this statement while discussing the GOP's strategies for the upcoming 2024 election with Newsmax host Eric Bolling, as reported by HuffPost. Echoing the election fraud claims popularized by Donald, Lara outlined the RNC's intentions for a significant election integrity operation.

The RNC has announced plans to send 100,000 volunteers and lawyers to polling stations this year to serve as observers. This is to 'protect the vote and ensure a big win.' Lara said, "We now have the ability at the RNC not just to have poll watchers, people standing in polling locations, but people who can physically handle the ballots." However, Lara's statement left many puzzled about its meaning. Marc E. Elias, a prominent Democratic elections lawyer, responded on X after watching a clip of Lara's comments, "Poll observers are NEVER permitted to touch ballots. She is suggesting the RNC will infiltrate election offices."

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian and authoritarianism expert, also wrote on X. She wrote, “What does this mean, they will have thugs to physically take the ballots to make sure they are marked for Republican candidates? Sounds like a perfect authoritarian election plan to me.” Other notable social media voices described Lara's comments as alarming, suggesting they indicated a public display of intended election interference. Furthermore, Lara hinted that the RNC had a sophisticated legal strategy that was ready to deploy. “We have lawsuits in 81 states right now,” she said, according to a different HuffPost report.

In general, poll watchers are selected by both political parties to oversee election operations and, occasionally, voter participation. Their role includes reporting any problems or irregularities to the relevant authorities and election officials. While the rules vary from state to state, poll watchers are strictly forbidden from disrupting the voting process. Following a lawsuit in 1981 where Democrats accused the RNC of using voter intimidation tactics against minorities, the RNC was placed under a court order from 1982 to 2017, limiting its poll-watching activities. However, a judge chose not to renew the consent decree in 2018.

Lara appeared to refer to this, although her statement was not entirely accurate. She said, “So there was a moratorium for about 40 years on the RNC actually training people to work in these polling locations and the tabulation centers where the mail-in ballots come in. And last year, the judge who implemented that passed away, so that was lifted. And that gives us a great ability as we head into what I assume everyone understands is the most important election of our lifetimes." She also mentioned their desire to prevent a recurrence of the events of 2020.