{"id":833149,"date":"2021-09-30T22:13:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T02:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=833149"},"modified":"2021-09-30T22:13:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T02:13:38","slug":"its-always-about-the-long-game-conservative-group-tries-to-avoid-re-hashing-2020-while-training-activists-to-change-election-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-always-about-the-long-game-conservative-group-tries-to-avoid-re-hashing-2020-while-training-activists-to-change-election-process\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s Always About The Long Game\u2019: Conservative Group Tries To Avoid Re-Hashing 2020 While Training Activists To Change Election Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fits-always-about-the-long-game-conservative-group-tries-to-avoid-re-hashing-2020-while-training-activists-to-change-election-process%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=833149&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>FreedomWorks flew conservatives from throughout the country to Washington, D.C., on the promise of being taught how to protect the integrity of U.S. elections.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Election Integrity Initiative is meant to train conservatives \u201con election integrity best practices and equipping them to serve as officers of elections and as poll workers and watchers,\u201d according to its website.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Some attendees, such as a woman from North Carolina, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the results of the 2020 election needed to be fixed \u201cin order to fix future elections.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Peter Vicenzi, the organization\u2019s director of communications, told the DCNF the initiative was not meant to \u201crelitigate 2020,\u201d but rather teach citizens who came to \u201cgo back home and be able to be involved in the process.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Conservative advocacy organization FreedomWorks estimated about 70 people were packed into their Washington, D.C., headquarters on Tuesday, flown in from across the U.S. to participate in lectures and panels they were told would teach them how to protect the integrity of American elections.<\/p>\n<p>The effort was part of the group\u2019s Election Integrity Initiative, meant to \u201crestore confidence in our elections by advocating for state-level election integrity legislation,\u201d by training conservatives \u201con election integrity best practices and equipping them to serve as officers of elections and as poll workers and watchers,\u201d according to its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionprotectioninitiative.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Carol Davis, a FreedomWorks ambassador from Illinois recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freedomworks.org\/content\/freedomworks-welcomes-carol-davis-director-freedomworks%E2%80%99-election-protection-initiative\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">named<\/a> the director of the Election Protection Initiative, hosted a lecture on how conservatives have fought for election security even in a deep blue state. She advised attendees to read their local election laws and call out officials when they aren\u2019t following the written procedure.<\/p>\n<p>If they were doing something good, she said to give them a \u201ccarrot\u201d but \u201cif they\u2019re doing something bad we need to beat them with sticks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMetaphorically!\u201d a FreedomWorks employee shouted from the back.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Vicenzi, the organization\u2019s director of communications, told the Daily Caller News Foundation the initiative was not meant to \u201crelitigate 2020,\u201d but rather teach citizens who came to \u201cgo back home and be able to be involved in the process,\u201d such as becoming election officers.<\/p>\n<p>Some attendees, however, were still focused on 2020 and wished the initiative had more of an emphasis on it. \u201cIn order to fix future elections we have to fix the 2020 election,\u201d Nicole, who traveled to D.C. from North Carolina, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to find ways to do that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7292732\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"35\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7292732\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ballots are pulled aside for a hand audit by Maricopa County Elections Department staff ahead of Tuesdays election on October 31, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Courtney Pedroza\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nicole said she also did not believe the governor of her state, Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/11\/roy-cooper-north-carolina-declares-state-emergency-colonial-pipeline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roy Cooper<\/a>, legitimately won reelection in 2020. Former President Donald Trump won North Carolina over President Joe Biden by a little over 1 point in the same election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Others reiterated Trump\u2019s claims of massive voter fraud, such as ballots being cast by dead people and duplicate votes. Another <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/17\/donald-trump-north-carolina-gop-convention-michael-whatley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Carolina<\/a> woman said she thought the fraud started in 2012 when Barack Obama won reelection, with Trump only winning in 2016 because Democrats underestimated his support.<\/p>\n<p>Vicenzi said the organization did not take a stance on any 2020 election audits, but a segment entitled \u201cGrassroots in the fight for Election Integrity in Arizona\u201d featured Arizona state Sen. Kelly Townsend, who was part of the \u201cStop The Steal\u201d efforts after the election.<\/p>\n<p>She allotted part of her speaking time to tell the story of \u201chow the audit came to be\u201d in Maricopa County, describing it as \u201calmost a spiritual movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many of you think the 2020 election was perfect?\u201d Arizona state Rep. Jake Hoffman began his part of the panel. \u201cElection integrity has become the civil rights issue of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Trump-endorsed audit of Maricopa County, led by the firm Cyber Ninjas, concluded Biden won the county by <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/24\/donald-trump-endorsed-maricopa-county-audit-biden-won-larger-margin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a slightly larger margin<\/a> than was originally calculated. The FreedomWorks attendees told the DCNF, however, that is not what the report said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re [the media] following their narrative,\u201d Nicole said. \u201cThere is enough in there to decertify the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other lectures FreedomWorks put on aligned more closely with the goal of emphasizing the integrity of upcoming elections. Hans Von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, spoke to a seated audience about opposing the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/11\/chuck-schumer-mitch-mcconnell-for-the-people-act-congress-elections-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">For the People Act<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/16\/manchin-meets-republicans-compromise-voting-rights-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He said the bills were \u201cinsulting to the people of every state\u201d and told attendees to call their elected officials to oppose them. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/07\/greg-abbott-signs-texas-voting-bill-intense-fight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Abbott Signs Texas\u2019 Voting Reform Bill Into Law, Ending Tense Political Fight)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>J. Christian Adams, President and General Counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, talked in front of a previously gerrymandered map of North Carolina. He went over <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/23\/supreme-court-approval-rating-new-low-gallup-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Supreme Court<\/a> cases that set the standards for how race should be considered when drawing districts, such as Shaw v. Reno, while attendees took notes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou guys now know more about redistricting than like 99.99999% of Americans,\u201d Adams said. He went on to describe the political fight over whether redistricting should use citizen voting-age population (CVAP) or voting-age population (VAP), the latter of which includes non-citizens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think if you\u2019re a non-citizen, you should be represented in the legislature,\u201d Adams said, garnering a round of applause. He told the group to contact those in charge of redistricting in their respective states and tell them to use CVAP instead of VAP.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7292733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"36\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7292733\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7292733 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Supporters Of President Trump Demonstrate At Arizona Capitol After Biden Wins Elections\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-170x120.jpg 170w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-620x438.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-768x542.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-1536x1085.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1284462026-2048x1447.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7292733\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of President Donald Trump demonstrate at a \u2018Stop the Steal\u2019 rally in front of the Maricopa County Elections Department office on November 7, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Davis emphasized pursuing attainable change, because \u201cwe don\u2019t have time to live in La La Land\u201d and voter ID laws were never going to become a viable option in many states. She advised conservatives to do \u201cdetective work\u201d to obtain voter rolls and find \u201cghost voters\u201d that should not be casting ballots.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would all love to abolish early voting,\u201d Merissa Hamilton, FreedomWorks\u2019 ambassador from Arizona, said, but the top priority is a \u201creduction of harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always about the long game,\u201d Townsend told the crowd, reiterating the need to keep pressure on legislators. \u201cThe worst enemy of the Republican Party is the Republican Party.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/17\/north-carolina-judges-rule-voter-photo-identification-law-discriminatory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Judges Say North Carolina Law Requiring Voter Photo ID Is Discriminatory)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During a lunch break, attendees were asked to sign a pledge supporting various \u201cvoting rights\u201d issues, such as opposing \u201cthe federal takeover of America\u2019s election systems\u201d and ensuring \u201cvoter lists are properly maintained in compliance with state and federal laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you legit?\u201d one attendee asked the DCNF during the break when approached for an interview, pulling from the media training the group received that morning. \u201cIs this a test?\u201d another joked.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FreedomWorks flew conservatives from throughout the country to Washington, D.C., on the promise of being taught how to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. The Election Integrity Initiative is meant &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-833149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}