[TheHill] The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Wednesday announced that it is forming a new Committee on Election Integrity that will advocate for "election transparency."
The RNC said the panel will be chaired by Florida Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters and co-chaired by Ashley MacLeay, a national committeewoman from the District of Columbia. The committee overall will consist of 12 men and 12 women from 21 states and the District of Columbia.
The formation of the committee marks a doubling down by the RNC on its support of implementing stricter voter ID laws and ensuring poll watchers are present at voting locations. The move comes as Republicans in various states look to roll back expansions in absentee and mail-in voting that were implemented during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Election integrity is one of the most critical issues we face as a Party and as a country. What we saw this past election - states undoing important safeguards, bypassing the proper legislative processes, and changing election laws in the eleventh hour - was deeply troubling and brought chaos and uncertainty to our sacred democratic processes," said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
"As RNC Chair, I will not sit idly by and the Party will respond," she added. "The RNC will play a crucial role in restoring confidence in our elections, promoting election integrity, and recommending best practices to ensure that future elections are free, fair, and transparent."
The panel expands on the $30 million the RNC spent in the 2020 cycle in battleground states to try to curtail absentee and mail-in voting. Former President Trump and other Republicans railed against the expansions last year, with some labeling them as "fraud" that cost Trump a second term.
Among the reforms Republicans have alleged produced fraud included no excuse absentee voting and the use of government-monitored drop boxes to collect ballots.
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