America's super-rich support Mr. Trump, spend millions of dollars to ensure 'integrity' in the election

Several US billionaires are spending money on anti-election fraud networks in an effort to support former US President Donald Trump in his race to the White House.

A secret group of conservative billionaires and Republican Party donors has poured more than $140 million into about 50 organizations to ensure election integrity, according to The Wall Street Journal. Among them are organizations affiliated with Wisconsin shipping billionaires Richard Uihlein and Elizabeth Uihlein, and Hobby Lobby founder David Green.

The Wall Street Journal reports that election integrity groups in the U.S. over the past four years have increased their scrutiny of voter registration, pursued lawsuits against local election officials, and elected like-minded state and local politicians who support efforts to challenge the results. These organizations are not required to disclose the identities of their donors.

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“I am so proud of the Election Integrity Network and the thousands of patriotic Americans,” said Cleta Mitchell, head of the Conservative Partnership Institute’s Election Integrity Network and a veteran Republican election lawyer. Mitchell added that activists are responding to changes in voting procedures introduced during the 2020 pandemic, including the expansion of mail-in voting.

A voter casts his ballot on election day in Falls Church, Virginia (USA) on November 7, 2023

Over the past few years, the “anti-voter fraud” network has also spent tens of millions of dollars in battleground states like Georgia, where Republican lawmakers have pushed through a series of legal and regulatory changes. Three members of the Georgia State Board of Elections have pushed through new regulations in recent months, including a manual recount.

But judges in Georgia blocked the rules last week as Election Day approached. Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit challenging recent changes to Georgia's election rules that it said could confuse election officials as they certify and count ballots.

Election workers monitor early voting at a polling station in Marietta, Georgia, on October 15, 2024.

The Election Integrity Network also trains volunteers to monitor voting on Election Day. One organization in the network created an app that allows voters to post, comment, and share anything they consider “election irregularities” and report incidents to the group. In May, another organization announced that voters would receive $5 million if they reported election fraud or abuse.

"Most of the statements made by election integrity groups are not intended to address the current problems. They are intended to set the stage for claims [after the election] that the election was rigged," said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

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Democrats have also been recruiting volunteers. Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign plans to deploy tens of thousands of people to monitor and count ballots on Election Day on November 5, as well as staff hotlines offering legal and voter protection expertise.

"We will deal with election night and the days after as they come. We have the resources, the expertise, and we are focused on that," Harris told NBC News. "Mr. Trump is trying to undermine a free and fair election."

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