Trump is already claiming election fraud

Only a few early votes have been cast in the 2024 presidential election, but Donald Trump — as in past elections — is making claims that the process is rigged against him.

Trump is "escalating calls" to investigate election officials he says are "corrupt," said The New York Times. "WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted," he said in a social media post. But "election fraud is rare," the Times noted. Despite this, Trump's claims have "rattled" officials who worry they could be put in the legal cross-hairs for "conducting a fair election."

There is a pattern at work here. In February 2016, Politico said, Trump lost the Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — and immediately charged fraud. "Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he illegally stole it," Trump wrote on social media. Nothing came of the allegations. Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College that fall — winning the White House — but lost the popular vote: He then made "unfounded" claims that "millions of people" voted illegally in the election, said NPR. Trump's fraud claims after losing the 2020 election helped spark the Jan. 6 insurrection, but his allegations have been repudiated by a "variety of judges, state election officials and an arm of his own administration's Homeland Security Department," said The Associated Press.

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'Republican Party War Rooms' ready for 2024

Trump is putting his money where his mouth is. The former president in April announced an effort to "combat voter fraud" by deploying "100,000 attorneys and volunteers" in swing states, Reuters said. GOP officials will staff "Republican Party War Rooms" and launch "Election Integrity Hotline" to answer calls from voters about possible irregularities. Similar efforts were made by Republicans during the 2022 midterm elections, but the latest program is a "significant step up in terms of its scope and ambition."

The former president is also pushing Republicans in Congress to get on board. He has urged GOP members of the House "pursue a government shutdown" unless they can pass a "hard-line voting bill" as part of the funding resolution to keep the government open, said CNBC. The bill, called the SAVE Act, would require voters to "show proof of citizenship at the ballot box" — a demand founded on Trump's unproven social media claims that "DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO 'STUFF' VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS." Democrats say the proposal is dead on arrival.

More lawsuits on the way

The legal battle has already begun. Republicans have "filed more than 100 lawsuits" challenging election procedures ahead of the 2024 election, said Axios. More lawsuits are on the way. "Pre-election litigation has been pretty heavy," said Benjamin Ginsberg, a GOP lawyer. A Republican National Committee spokesperson said the party will continue efforts to make sure the election is "fair, transparent, legal and accurate."

There could be consequences. Trump's claims are "putting Republican turnout at risk," said The Wall Street Journal. There is a tension between telling supporters that the process is "rigged" while also encouraging them to "participate in it anyway." That has some GOP officials nervous. "When you still want voters to turn out but you're telling them it's rigged," said David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, "it's no surprise that some of them are on the fence about that."