In a development that has raised alarm bells among election watchdogs, it has come to light that Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have conducted a significant test run for their strategy to disrupt and potentially steal the 2024 election. This preliminary phase appears to have gone according to plan, setting a troubling precedent for the upcoming vote.
The strategy has already begun to take shape in Georgia, where recent events have highlighted the growing influence of Trump’s supporters on local election boards. In a routine primary earlier this year, Trump won the Republican contest. However, the aftermath has revealed troubling tactics: two Republican members of the Fulton County election board, Julie Adams and Michael Heekin, refused to certify the election results despite no identified irregularities. Their refusal was based on demands for additional information, including chain-of-custody documents for ballots.
In an alarming escalation, Adams, affiliated with an election activist network led by Cleta Mitchell, opposed certifying another primary election in May. Adams even sued the Fulton County board to gain the power to withhold certification, The Guardian reports. This legal maneuver was unusual since state laws typically do not grant certification bodies the discretion to investigate further.
This test run has extended beyond Georgia. In August, the state’s Republican-controlled election board adopted a new rule requiring local boards to conduct an undefined “reasonable inquiry” into any discrepancies before certifying results. Critics fear this could be used to delay certification and create uncertainty about the election outcome.
These moves could be indicative of a broader strategy by Trump and the RNC for the 2024 election. Trump’s persistent questioning of the electoral system’s integrity, coupled with similar rhetoric from influential conservatives, suggests a coordinated effort to disrupt the process. The RNC is reportedly preparing to deploy a large number of poll observers, potentially leading to significant disruptions during voting and counting.
Marc Elias, a top Democratic voting rights lawyer, has expressed concern about the potential for both legal and extralegal tactics aimed at undermining the election’s integrity. The belief that the 2020 election was stolen has become a mainstream position within the Republican Party, complicating efforts to ensure a fair election process.
“I worry that there will be both legal and extralegal efforts by Republicans to keep ballots from being counted,” Elias told The Guardian.
Additionally, Trump’s allies are pushing for restrictive voting laws that could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. Despite some legislative failures, these efforts contribute to an ongoing narrative of widespread fraud.
Local election boards, which have gained newfound importance, have already seen efforts to delay or block certification in recent elections. Instances in New Mexico and Nevada illustrate how such tactics could jeopardize meeting federal deadlines and fuel misinformation.
While the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 aims to prevent a repeat of the 2020 attempts to overturn results, it does not fully address pre-certification challenges. As the 2024 election approaches, the test drive for election theft conducted by Trump and the RNC reveals a serious threat to the integrity of the upcoming vote.
