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“The RNC’s Election Integrity Efforts Have Left Much To Be Desired. I Have A Plan To Succeed.”
Harmeet Dhillon’s latest op-ed in the Daily Wire outlines what’s gone wrong with the RNC’s election integrity operations in the past and how she plans to fix it if elected.
“On my watch, the RNC will recognize that election integrity is an ongoing, year-round effort vital to our success — not an optional consideration that arises late in each election cycle to be staffed by low-paid, itinerant election hands with no investment in the outcome or the next season,” Harmeet Dhillon writes. “Our election integrity efforts will be real, not just for the sake of appearances.”
Read the full op-ed at the Daily Wire here or check out key excerpts of Harmeet’s plan below:
“Ever since I joined the RNC in 2016, after many years serving as an election lawyer laboring in isolation, I’ve been ringing the alarm: the RNC should be leading the fight to restore election integrity nationwide. It has the access to resources, the platform, and the vision – at least in theory – to issue-spot, prioritize, and lead nationally…Why didn’t we? Too many cautious insiders were afraid of being called names if they insisted on voter ID, on strict adherence to rules, on purging outdated voter rolls of ineligible voters…”
“I’m a veteran of the internal battles to motivate the party to take the issue seriously…I was appointed to chair an ad hoc committee on election integrity. For a year, our committee earnestly studied everything from bloated voter rolls (in blue and red counties alike), to overseas voters, to the hazards of same-day registration and ballot harvesting. We prepared a detailed action plan…which gathered dust throughout 2020 as COVID was used to shred our voting laws on a wholesale basis nationwide, even as the party sat inert, doing little to fight back…”
“During McDaniel’s last RNC term, the party improved its commitment to election integrity litigation. It isn’t exactly the torrent of effort portrayed by the incumbent, but our election litigation output went from negligible to palpable…What we did not do is initiate much of our own litigation, put the Left on its heels, or leave any lasting marks on our opponents. We showed up, which is a good start, but decades of inactivity have left us with a wide gulf to overcome…”
“For decades, even as Democrats greased the election machinery with the efforts of highly paid corporate fat cat litigators-turned-progressive-legal-gladiators, Republicans have relied on volunteer election lawyers acting as a ragtag army of free, seasonal law militia…This shambolic seasonal spectacle is no way to run a winning political party’s election integrity operation, and under my leadership, it will be a quaint, nostalgic memory of our hackneyed past…”
“At a high level, we need to get both spending and communications right. That’s a skill I’ve mastered as a litigator….When it comes to elections, Americans need to know that there’s a problem — and that we Republicans are the solution. Too many Republicans view the RNC itself as the problem! Integrity in fundraising and consistency in budgeting and spending on this important prerogative is required to build up voter and donor trust that we are well-equipped to lead on this issue…”
“As a 30-year litigation veteran and a 35-year political activist, I have the tools needed to develop coherent litigation strategies and metrics to determine which lawyers are best at getting the right things done. I’ve had to master those skills in private practice. I can do the same to set the RNC’s election effort on the right path and into the hands of skilled legal strategists to refine our strategies, innovate, and implement a winning vision for leveling the playing field and winning back voter confidence…”
“Under my leadership, we’ll focus more on placing Republican poll workers wherever possible. Unlike poll watchers, poll workers have decision-making authority, mandatory access, and influence on the process. We’ll make sure that our people have the power to ensure that lawful procedures are followed — not merely to report on problems after they arise and often too late to do anything about it…”
“Yet another fail in our recent past has been passing up opportunities to gather data and influence voters on the key issue of election integrity…Under my leadership, the RNC will lead on ensuring that we use all opportunities to influence voters and gather data on election integrity issues.”
“With a relatively small investment in the relevant states, we can initiate and track Republican vote-by-mail applications, outgoing ballots, and returns. We can train volunteers in ballot harvesting to do it transparently and ethically wherever it’s legal. In California, we’ve gathered mail ballots in gun stores and churches – why not innovate wherever Republicans congregate? We can: standardize our training of poll workers, poll watchers, and volunteers; emphasize recruiting of workers over watchers; customize training to specific state law needs; and build an effective communications strategy in conjunction with a refreshed, energized communications department that makes use of modern tools such as social media influencers, to communicate winning election operations and turnout messages…”
“On my watch, the RNC will recognize that election integrity is an ongoing, year-round effort vital to our success — not an optional consideration that arises late in each election cycle to be staffed by low-paid, itinerant election hands with no investment in the outcome or the next season. Our election integrity efforts will be real, not just for the sake of appearances. I want all American elections to be free and fair. Once we level the playing field, our superior candidates, policies, messages, and vision, combined with funding and discipline, will provide the best possible ground for great candidates and campaigns to get elected and help guide our great nation back onto the right path.”
