washington<u+2014>republican and democratic camps are gearing up for the possibility of heated legal battles on election day, preparations that have taken on additional urgency following gop nominee donald trump <u+2019>s charges that the election will be rigged against him . mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign is leaning on the republican national committee and state parties for recruiting lawyers and other legal preparations. democratic officials and hillary clinton <u+2019>s campaign, meanwhile, are preparing to address any potential voter intimidation and to help people navigate tighter voting rules in several gop-led states. building an extensive legal network has become more of a priority for political campaigns since bush v. gore. lawyers are needed to respond to unexpected complications as voters go to the polls and to stay on top of any potential recounts in the event of razor-thin victories. however, since the disputed 2000 presidential election, there have been few major issues with election administration, and there is no evidence that significant election fraud has taken place. mr. trump in recent months repeatedly has suggested <u+2014>without offering evidence<u+2014>that the election process is unfair. he also has been unwilling to say that he will accept the election results . but the trump campaign<u+2019>s legal preparations may leave the party at a disadvantage if election disputes emerge, say gop operatives. mr. trump<u+2019>s approach has raised concerns among party officials that his campaign<u+2019>s efforts lag behind those of mrs. clinton, his democratic rival, and previous gop candidates. mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign is significantly smaller than mrs. clinton<u+2019>s operation. on payroll, mr. trump had about 220 staffers in september compared with 815 paid employees on mrs. clinton<u+2019>s campaign during the same period, according to campaign-finance records. both campaigns are relying on volunteers for significant portions of their legal efforts. mr. trump<u+2019>s ground game for turning out voters hasn<u+2019>t been extensive, gop officials say. that could leave the party with less data about its voters than in past elections and hamstring legal efforts in the event of recount battles, they said. one lawyer with experience in past recounts said it is important to have data on expected voters by location, in addition to information on how many gop supporters used early or absentee voting, or cast provisional ballots. such information, combined with historical voting data, can help lawyers identify precincts with voting abnormalities. without good data, gop lawyers would be at a disadvantage, the lawyer said. the trump campaign didn<u+2019>t respond to requests for comment. it months ago identified potential hot spots in battleground states<u+2014>heavily democratic communities including philadelphia, cleveland, miami and charlotte, n.c.<u+2014>where campaign officials plan to deploy attorneys, according to an official familiar with the plan. the trump plan doesn<u+2019>t include sending officials to monitor poll sites in republican areas, the official said. inside the trump campaign, people don<u+2019>t share their candidate<u+2019>s view that he could lose due to widespread foul play, the official said. the trump campaign has outsourced much of its legal preparations to rnc and state parties. in ohio, a battleground state, it plans to rely on the state gop to certify poll watchers and recruit attorneys to mediate any disputes. judicial watch, a conservative watchdog group that has mounted a legal campaign over mrs. clinton<u+2019>s email practices, said it intends to monitor polls in virginia. <u+201c>we are making certain we have the staff in place to run an election day operation,<u+201d> ohio gop chairman matt borges said. <u+201c>if something funky does happen on election day we will be able to react and respond.<u+201d> the rnc can<u+2019>t conduct poll watching or ballot-security activities as part of a settlement in a 1982 lawsuit but is prepared to help mount any legal challenges that crop up after election day. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s the rnc<u+2019>s responsibility to be prepared for all possible scenarios, including potential recounts,<u+201d> said spokeswoman lindsay walters. this is the first presidential election since a 2013 supreme court decision that invalidated parts of the voting rights act aimed at protecting nonwhite voters in states with a history of racial discrimination. because of that ruling, the justice department is now limited to a handful of states in sending special election monitors to polling places, down from around a dozen four years ago. the doj will still deploy more general monitors at polling places in roughly 25 states. mrs. clinton<u+2019>s campaign is preparing for the possibility that mr. trump won<u+2019>t concede if he loses. but it believes other republicans will put pressure on him to accept a loss if it is sizable. voting in swing states such as florida and ohio will be administered by republicans. the clinton campaign is working with the democratic national committee and state parties across the country on their legal efforts. a spokesman for the clinton campaign confirmed it was building a <u+201c>voter protection<u+201d> operation but declined to discuss details. hoping to boost turnout, the campaign has been running a messaging campaign emphasizing how easy it is to register to vote. the clinton campaign has called for volunteer lawyers<u+2014>and law students<u+2014>to support its efforts. courtney wheeler, an attorney who coordinated voter protection for president barack obama <u+2019>s 2012 re-election campaign, said campaigns want to ensure that polling places open and close on time, that enough ballots are printed and available, and that state, county and local officials are complying with election law. issues that pop up on election day usually involve mistakes or unexpected complications, including questions about whether to keep facilities open for additional time. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s stress on the system, even in the best of circumstances,<u+201d> said kenneth gross, head of the political law practice at skadden, arps, slate, meagher & flom llp. it is possible campaign lawyers may need to shift their focus down the ballot, especially if the white house race isn<u+2019>t close and if crucial senate contests, such as those in north carolina, pennsylvania and nevada, end up being nail biters. <u+201c>if a recount could determine control of the senate, you<u+2019>ll see the greatest concentration of lawyers ever,<u+201d> said william mcginley, a partner at law firm jones day and former general counsel of the national republican senatorial committee. major legal showdowns already have occurred in several important states, on issues like voter-identification laws and early voting.<u+00a0>the cases continue, and democrats and civil-rights groups have often been on the winning side of rulings. write to brent kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com , reid j. epstein at reid.epstein@wsj.com and byron tau at byron.tau@wsj.com corrections & amplifications: the justice department will send special election monitors to polling places in a handful of states with a history of racial discrimination and do more general monitoring in roughly two dozen states. an earlier version of this article incorrectly made a distinction between monitoring inside and outside polling places. (oct. 27, 2016)
campaigns brace for election-day legal battles  - wsj
brent kendall reid j. epstein byron tau