Trump campaign launches effort to fight voter fraud

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee launched a programme on Friday to combat voter fraud in the lead-up to the November election, even as voting irregularities have proven extremely rare in the United States.

The RNC and the Trump campaign said they were preparing to deploy more than 100,000 attorneys and volunteers across the states that are expected to be competitive in the presidential race.

The Republican Party and the Trump campaign said in a statement that they plan to recruit an army of poll watchers, who will monitor individual polling sites for irregularities.

Attorneys, meanwhile, will be stationed at “Republican Party War Rooms” in competitive states, where they will staff an “Election Integrity Hotline” to answer calls from poll watchers and voters who have observed possible irregularities. “Having the right people to count the ballots is just as important as turning out voters on Election Day,” Trump said in a statement.

“Republicans are now working together to protect the vote and ensure a big win on November 5th!”

The RNC ran a voter integrity programme during the 2022 congressional elections, though the 2024 effort appears to represent a significant step up in terms of its scope and ambition.