‘We need to be in the room’: RNC seeks thousands of election observers in Arizona

The Republican National Committee is building a massive effort to look over the shoulders of poll workers and ballot counters this fall, seeking 100,000 observers across the country and 5,000 in Arizona, a top party official said at former President Donald Trump’s campaign office opening in Casa Grande on Tuesday.

“There is nothing more important than making sure that we are going to protect the sanctity of the vote,” chair Michael Whatley said. “We need to be in the room.”

The RNC chair laid out a plan to recruit thousands of volunteers to keep watch over elections across the country during remarks at the grand opening of the “Trump Force 47” campaign office.

Dozens of people packed the room to hear from Trump allies including GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani, Arizona Republican Party chair Gina Swodoba, former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and former Florida state Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The push to oversee the election comes days after Trump declined to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election at a debate Thursday. Trump has for years pushed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

“What we want to see is a fair, accurate, secure and transparent election cycle. And when we get that, we're going to feel very comfortable with the results,” Whatley told reporters after the event. “We want to make sure that we are in the room with observers, with volunteers, with attorneys whenever a vote is being cast and the vote is being counted.”

Some attendees at the Casa Grande meeting said they worry voters are losing faith in Arizona’s election system.

“I feel like there's this disquiet Arizona where people don't feel like their vote is being counted properly. If people would just feel better about that, I think I would be helping people,” said Brad DeSandro, a patent attorney and independent voter from Phoenix who attended the volunteer training. “If people lose faith in the system, it’s over. I’m really concerned about that.”

Poll observers — members of the public appointed by their political parties to monitor polling places and other election processes — aren't new in Arizona. The state has long allowed one observer per recognized political party to watch over the polls, so long as they don't obstruct poll workers, interact with voters or otherwise disrupt voting. They act as just one of many safeguards that ensure fair, accurate elections.

But the Republican Party's push for more observers parallels the rise in voting conspiracies after Trump's 2020 loss in Maricopa County, the state's largest. His defeat cost him the state — and ultimately, the presidential race.

Since then, Trump and many other Republican candidates have echoed falsehoods about election administration in Arizona. Those conspiracies prompted some to surveil ballot drop boxes in the Phoenix area during the 2022 election, sparking voter intimidation complaints. A federal judge ultimately limited the monitors' activities.

The border, economy among major talking points

Swoboda, the state party chair, said her mission is “empowering people to vote,” regardless of the format they use to cast a ballot. The Trump campaign office had signs encouraging voters to cast ballots in a number of ways, including voting in person on Election Day, voting early in person and even requesting an early ballot.

Trump previously cast doubt on mail-in ballots but changed his stance after his 2020 loss.

At the office opening, Trump’s allies spoke to supporters about key campaign issues including immigration, the economy and Trump’s legal battles.

“The American Dream is on the ballot. With inflation the way it is, with insecure borders. I mean, there are so many people that want to come to the United States of America,” Whitaker said. “The message is we have to do more than we've ever done before, and we have to act as if our country's future depends on it.”

Speakers largely steered clear of reviewing the first 2024 presidential debate despite President Joe Biden’s widely panned performance. As Trump supporters gathered in Casa Grande, some Democrats on the other side of the country in Washington, D.C., were calling on Biden to step aside.

“It doesn't matter whether it's Joe Biden or any other candidate. They are going to have the same positions that they're going to be running on, and they are all going to double down on the failed policies of the Biden administration,” Whatley said.

Whitaker agreed, saying that “we all have eyes” and Biden’s debate performance was poor but he’d prefer to “let Democrats pick their candidates.”

Lori Martinez, a licensed mortgage loan originator and real estate property owner from Yavapai County, attended the office opening and said the Biden-Trump debate “boils down to elderly abuse.” She encouraged First Lady Jill Biden to “keep him home where he can rest and be with his grandchildren.”

To Martinez, the election is about “saving our country.”“We just have so much evil in our country right now. Look at all the lawsuits against Trump. Look at how they are looking to do everything possible so he's not elected. But it's not going to work because there's too many people,” Martinez said. “It's not just Republicans. It's also Democrats and it's also independents.”

Arizona remains major battleground state

Despite Trump’s narrow loss in Arizona in 2020, Whatley struck a confident tone about the election this fall.

He laid out an ambitious plan to campaign in the major battleground states and also court votes in states that Trump lost in 2016 and 2020. Whatley said internal and public polls had driven him to expand the Trump campaign map.

“We've now started to engage in Minnesota and in Virginia and in New Hampshire. So we're playing offense all around the country.” Whatley said. “The Biden campaign is playing defense.”

Republic reporter Sasha Hupka contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ‘We need to be in the room’: RNC seeks thousands of election observers in Arizona