In a major announcement on Friday, Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) unveiled plans for an extensive "election integrity" operation ahead of the November elections. The campaign intends to deploy a staggering 100,000 volunteers and attorneys to battleground states in order to safeguard the voting process and secure a victory.

According to a press release, the volunteers and lawyers will be tasked with monitoring various aspects of the election process, including logic and accuracy testing, early voting, ballot tabulation, mail ballot processing, and Election Day voting. Additionally, they will be involved in post-election activities such as canvasses, audits, and potential recounts. There are indications that the campaign may also recruit poll workers.

Emphasizing the significance of having competent staff to count the ballots, Donald Trump stated, "The RNC is hiring hundreds of election integrity staff across the map - more than ever before because our Party will be recruiting thousands of more observers to protect the vote in 2024." RNC co-chair Lara Trump added that campaign officials in different states have the responsibility of recruiting, training, and, when possible, shifting poll watchers and workers continuously.

While poll watching is a customary part of elections and is carried out by both parties, experts warn that unruly operations can be problematic. Particularly concerning are false claims about the 2020 election made by Trump and his allies. Some experts express concerns that empowering these observers at polling sites could disrupt normal election operations and potentially intimidate voters.

The GOP's release outlines plans to collaborate with "passionate grassroots coalitions who are deeply invested in fighting voter fraud." This proposed operation would double the RNC's ambitious 50,000-person initiative from the previous year. Nevertheless, some experts believe that both figures are aspirational and unrealistic. The RNC did not provide data on the number of volunteers or staff members involved in recent elections when a request was made.

Justin Levitt, a former advisor in the Biden White House on democracy issues, who has previously worked on voting matters at the Department of Justice, asserted the difficulties of recruiting individuals for monitoring voter fraud. Levitt compared the task to asking people to wait for a UFO sighting for 15 hours, as the event is unlikely to occur.

Marc Elias, a leading Democratic election lawyer, viewed the 100,000 number as unattainable but expressed concern over the plans. He suggested that the RNC is preparing for a massive voter suppression operation that will involve a significant number of people and lawyers.

Lauren Groh-Wargo, executive director of Fair Fight PAC, voiced her opposition to the effort, stating that the RNC's new voter suppression unit is just another tactic aimed at dividing and intimidating voters. She criticized the operation as being built on the false premise of widespread voter fraud.

Until 2018, the RNC was restricted by a consent decree that required court approval to ensure non-discriminatory poll watching efforts. This decree was implemented following a lawsuit by Democrats who accused the RNC of deploying armed, off-duty police officers to patrol minority neighborhoods during the 1981 elections. The decree expired at the end of 2017 after being in effect for 35 years.

David Becker, the executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, commented on the significance of poll observers, stating that they play a normal and beneficial role in the election process when properly trained and do not interfere with administrators' work. However, an army of 100,000 observers would present a different dynamic. Becker emphasized that election workers are prepared to handle disruptive observers and would protect voters' rights from any form of intimidation or interference.

As the election season approaches, the massive "election integrity" operation launched by Trump and the RNC has drawn both praise and concerns. While it aims to safeguard the voting process, experts question the feasibility of recruiting such a large number of volunteers and lawyers. The potential impact of these observers on election operations and voter intimidation remains a subject of debate.