President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Republicans plan to dispense a large “Election Integrity Army” to every single state for the 2026 midterms – invoking his debunked claims that the United States does not have fair elections.
In a message on his Truth Social platform the president appeared to attribute his “Historic Election in 2024” to the fact that the Republican National Committee sent thousands of volunteers across the country to poll watch or assist with election litigation through a volunteer program.
“During my Historic Election in 2024, when I won every single Swing State, and decisively won both the Electoral and Popular votes by wide margins, the Republicans had an Election Integrity Army in every single State to preserve the sanctity of each legal vote. We will be doing the same again in 2026, but it will be much bigger and stronger,” Trump wrote.
Trump did not elaborate on who would be part of the “Election Integrity Army” or how large it would be.
But his announcement is reminiscent of familiar claims he made in the run-up to the 2024 presidential race in which he planted seeds of doubt on the validity of U.S. election – seemingly dependent on the outcome.
Trump’s post was in response to Democrats forming an election integrity task force aimed at identifying and mitigating threats to U.S. elections.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last month Democrats would partner with former Attorney General Eric Holder and election lawyer Marc Elias, who helped the Democratic Party counter Trump’s lawsuit in 2020, to assist in the effort.
“Donald Trump knows, his party knows, that they’re at risk of losing this election in 2026, which is why they’re working round the clock to tilt the scales unfairly in their favor,” Schumer said.
The president asserted the Democratic-led task force “will no doubt try to suppress Republican voters, and interfere with our Elections.”
The president’s latest Truth Social post about election integrity is part of his long-standing efforts to implement more regulations on voting and attempt to investigate debunked claims of ballot fraud.
Since returning to office, the president signed an executive order attempting to restrict mail-in ballot voting and directing the government to create a list of eligible voters, he’s demanded Congress pass federal voter ID laws and sought to have Republican-led states redraw congressional maps in their party’s favor.
The U.S. Constitution largely gives states the power to administer elections and create rules.
Trump’s election denialism stems from his claims that the 2020 was rigged to favor Democrats, despite election infrastructure experts, state audits, federal judges and members of his own administration concluding there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud in the election he lost.
Election experts had consistently assured voters that U.S. elections have been and are secure.
In the 2024 election, the RNC created a “Protect the Vote” program in which average citizens could sign up to be poll watchers on Election Day to make note or report signs of suspicious activity. They also recruited lawyers to assist on election-related litigation. The RNC said more than 160,000 volunteers participated in the last election cycle.
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