Although 2020 election irregularities were dismissed by the media, many instances have been recorded
Republicans have been stepping up their efforts to institute more secure measures for 2024
Democrats are preparing their own legal action and expect Donald Trump to call foul play should he lose in November
The story
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered the American voting landscape by expanding mail-in and early voting options, as well as introducing thousands of ballot drop-boxes. Many conservatives at the time raised concerns that these changes could increase the potential for voter fraud.
The media overwhelmingly dismissed such concerns.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) conducted a hearing on voting irregularities, revealing numerous issues despite widespread media claims that the election process was fair and secure.
Johnson discovered that in Wisconsin, there were 170,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee and Dane County that were improperly counted. In Madison, 17,300 ballots were allegedly unlawfully collected at a "Democracy in the Park" event, and seniors in nursing homes were said to have voted without required oversight — a move that Johnson described as “bordering on elder abuse.”
There was also major influence from the "Zuckerbucks" program, where Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg distributed over $300 million in grants to left-leaning jurisdictions. Republicans alleged this money was being used for get-out-the-vote efforts and voter registration.
Conservatives also alleged improper activity in Detroit, Arizona’s Maricopa County, and across the state of Pennsylvania.
However, the GOP has put in significant resources to ensure that the upcoming election in November does not suffer the same alleged issues. While Republicans take action, Democrats and the media are warning that Donald Trump will not accept the election outcome should he lose.
New measures
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has assembled an army of well over 100,000 trained poll watchers and attorneys to ensure that ballots will be properly counted across the nation.
Republicans have also embarked on door-knocking campaigns, introduced software to identify questionable registrations, and launched lawsuits to clean up voter rolls. The GOP argues that these actions are necessary to remove ineligible voters, such as deceased persons or non-citizens, from voter rolls.
However, critics, including left-leaning groups, contend that these efforts are designed to undermine confidence in the election process and pave the way for future disputes over election results.
In 2022, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act in response to controversies from the 2020 election, mandating that if a state fails to certify its election results, Congress must exclude that state's Electoral College votes from the majority tally.
Many in Congress viewed this legislation as a necessary change to simply the presidential certification process that some alleged paved the way for the January 6 riot at the capitol.
The law also tightens procedures for submitting and counting Electoral College votes, specifically addressing schemes like the “fake elector” attempts from seven states in 2020, for which individuals tied to Donald Trump in states like Arizona and Georgia have been charged.
Additionally, the law clarifies that the vice president, such as Kamala Harris in future counts, cannot unilaterally discard electoral votes, countering actions Trump urged Mike Pence to take in 2021.
Legal battles
Republicans are launching a series of legal challenges in battleground states ahead of the November election, prompting concerns from Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies that these efforts aim to cast doubt on the results if Donald Trump loses.
In Georgia, the GOP-controlled State Election Board is seeking to give local officials more authority to investigate potential voting issues, possibly slowing the vote count. In Michigan, Republicans are suing over the number of GOP poll workers in Detroit, while in North Carolina, they are challenging the state’s voter rolls, claiming they might allow non-citizens to vote.
Kamala Harris' campaign argues these efforts by Republicans are part of a broader strategy by Trump and his allies to create confusion about the election outcome. So, in response, Democrats have filed legal briefs expressing concerns about the true intent behind the GOP lawsuits.
In total, Republicans have filed over 100 lawsuits challenging voting procedures while Democrats have countered with their own legal team of over 100 staffers, several hundred lawyers, and thousands of volunteers to defend against GOP challenges.
Why it matters
The upcoming election faces heightened scrutiny due to lingering concerns from the 2020 race, where expanded mail-in voting and claims of irregularities sparked widespread debate and distrust of the election system.
Both Republicans and Democrats are bracing for potential challenges, with the GOP pushing for measures like voter roll purges and poll-watching to safeguard against fraud. Democrats, on the other hand, view these efforts as attempts to erode trust in the election outcome.
With legal battles already underway, November’s results will almost certainly face challenges and heavy scrutiny from the losing party, regardless of the election’s outcome.
