The Republican National Committee and the city of Detroit reached a settlement Friday to resolve a lawsuit involving poll watchers in the November election.
As part of a settlement agreement obtained by CNN, Detroit election officials will reaffirm their commitment under state law to hire at least one Republican poll watcher at each polling place and ensure partisan parity among poll watchers. reiterated the goal of maintaining Enough Republican pollsters are registered and have received the necessary training.
Detroit officials also agreed to increase communication with local Republican officials and provide regular updates on the number of Republican poll workers who have applied for and completed training.
“The modest additional measures we agreed to were neither complex nor required by law,” Conrad Mallet, the city’s top lawyer, said in a statement. “These were introduced as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure citizens respect and trust our electoral process and demonstrate that city officials are listening to all concerns.”
Republicans filed a lawsuit in August asking a state judge to force Detroit election officials to ensure that Democratic and Republican poll watchers are equal.
During the 2024 primary, the number of poll watchers in some precincts in Detroit was significantly skewed in favor of Democrats, according to the complaint. They claimed that about 200 of the city’s 335 precincts had no Republican poll watchers at all. (Detroit, located in Wayne County, is a Democratic stronghold.)
“This will bring much-needed transparency and accountability to Detroit’s election system,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement about the agreement.
Detroit had some of the most chaotic moments of the 2020 post-election process.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump flooded some areas near a large vote-counting center in downtown Detroit, prompting authorities to close their doors amid concerns that protesters would disrupt the process. We were forced to board up the windows of our department. The incident sparked a backlash in right-wing media and social media. Federal prosecutors recently announced that there was an effort by Trump campaign officials to cause chaos in Detroit.
After losing the 2020 election, Trump spread unsubstantiated claims that Republican poll workers were being systematically weeded out in Detroit and other cities. Those claims were false.
