RNC walks back claims on election observer limits at Milwaukee polling places
The Republican National Committee conceded in court Tuesday no elections observers were being restricted at Milwaukee's polling places, walking back claims it made in a lawsuit filed a day earlier on the eve of the 2024 General Election.
The lawsuit was born out of concerns raised during the early in-person absentee voting period, and sought an "immediate" restraining order prohibiting the commission from imposing "arbitrary" restrictions on the number of observers at polling locations, among other relief.
Kevin M. Scott, a lawyer for the RNC, said during a motion hearing that RNC officials toured the city's Central Count site Monday night and that he had been in contact with observers "at about 10 different sites" on Tuesday.
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"There seems to be no issues." Scott said. “The issues we believed were present are not present anymore."
"Our big concern is ... there was some sort of citywide policy being ordered. But we’re seeing that’s not the case."In a joint statement, RNC Chair Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump declared the court development "a huge win for election integrity."
"The RNC fought to ensure poll watcher access, and as a result of our lawsuit, the Milwaukee Elections Commission has addressed our concerns and protected public observation. We are committed to protecting transparency in our elections, and will continue to monitor in Milwaukee and across the country to secure fair and proper access," the statement reads.
The lawsuit charges that the city "arbitrarily limited the observers to one per party at the Polling Sites, did not afford the public the ability to observe all public aspects of the voting process, refused to allow additional observers at the polling locations, and refused to rearrange the voting or observation areas to afford the public the ability to observe the public aspects of the voting process at the Polling Sites."
The lawsuit claims the city also would limit observers to one Republican and one Democrat at its polling locations on Election Day, thereby casting "doubt on the administration of our elections and cause a lack of voter confidence in our electoral process."
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City elections officials denied the accusations.
“It’s no surprise to anyone that the RNC is sheepishly walking back their own lawsuit after getting the headlines they wanted," said Joe Oslund, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "They were wrong and they continue to be wrong. This election continues to be safe and secure, and as the RNC itself now admits, poll observers from both parties are able to witness it.”
Circuit Judge Michael J. Hanrahan did not rule on the merits of the case, so operations at polling places in Milwaukee won't change. He said he found "somewhat troubling" the timing of the RNC's filing. It had the information suitable to file a week earlier.
"That makes it difficult for the court to hear, examine and understand the positions of the parties ... and would also make it difficult to effectuate a meaningful remedy," the judge said.
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Early in-person voting ended Sunday. By then, the city had received 69,246 absentee ballots through that voting method. By Monday morning, the city had received more than 105,000 absentee ballots, including those received by mail, in city drop boxes and in-person early voting.
Hanrahan ordered a Nov. 15 status hearing in the case for an update.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: RNC walks back claims on election observer limits at Milwaukee polls
