President Trump has received the support of a key ally in the fight to establish election integrity throughout the country. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has intervened in a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration for its efforts to secure the voting process nationwide.
The case arose from challenges to an executive order signed by Trump in March. The Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections Order was designed to address electoral issues throughout the country and to preserve the “right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution.”
The order included various measures to enhance the security of the electoral process, including requirements for proof of citizenship at the voting booth, identification of unqualified voters from voter registration lists, improvements to the security of voting systems, and a prohibition on tabulating mail-in votes after election day.
The order was challenged in court by the Democratic Party and other groups, including the Democratic Governors Association and Democrats’ campaign committees in the Senate and House. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., are also plaintiffs in the case.
In a motion filed on Tuesday, the RNC intervened as a defendant in the case. The organization asserted its “vital interests” in the case and in protecting the rights of Republican voters to cast effective votes in a national election. According to the filing, the RNC “has interests in preventing unlawful mail-in ballot deadlines, which harm the RNC’s efforts to elect Republican candidates and turn out Republican voters.”
The filing specifically challenged the practice of counting mail-in ballots after election day, stating post-election receipt deadlines for mail-in ballots result in a drain on RNC resources and diminished voter confidence. In addition, the filing emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate voter rolls, pointing out the harm and inefficiencies that result from ineligible voter registrations.