The Republican National Committee on Wednesday announced a new program to "maximize" pre-Election Day voting among Republicans following a years-long effort by former President Donald Trump and allies to cast doubt on the early voting system.
Dubbed "Bank Your Vote," the RNC-led program aims to encourage Republican voters on how to lock in their votes as early as possible "through in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal," a party press release said. The program will be carried out in conjunction with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee.
After an underwhelming midterm election cycle, party leaders ramped up calls to make a stronger effort at getting Republicans to cast early votes, citing a significant disadvantage the party faced in key swing states where Democrats took full advantage of various voting methods.
Former President Donald Trump and aligned candidates, however, continued a years-long crusade to cast doubt over the legitimacy of early and mail-in balloting, limiting how many Republicans felt comfortable casting such votes.
“We’ve got to have a change of culture among Republican voters," Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chairman of the NRCC, said on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. "And it’s going to require us all on the same page."
Even Trump may be slowly coming around. Although he continues to wrongly insist the 2020 election he lost was rigged, he has suggested the party needs to change its attitude toward early voting, and his campaign last month promoted a "ballot harvesting fund."
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