[Lemon:] As we move closer to the election, millions of Americans are gearing up to vote by mail in the middle of a pandemic. And now CNN is learning that the Trump campaign is aggressively questioning local election officials in swing states on their processes for mail-in voting. More tonight from CNN's Pamela Brown. Pamela?
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, Don, election experts are sounding the alarm ahead of November's election, warning that unprecedented circumstances because of COVID-19 could lead to days and even weeks of legal battles, contested results, and now CNN is learning that the Trump campaign officials there, are grilling local election officials across the country who are already busy over mail-in ballots and preparations for possible future battles.
[Brown:] As President Trump continues to rail against mail-in ballots without evidence to support his claims.
[Trump:] They'll be dumping them in neighborhoods. There will be people are going to be picking them up. They'll be bribing.
[Brown:] CNN has learned the Trump campaign is bombarding local election officials in swing states with personal phone calls and questionnaires, digging for details on mail-in ballots. Apparently hunting for potential evidence needed to back up any future Trump claims of a rigged system.
[David Becker, Executive Director, Center For Election Innovation:] You would normally expect to see campaigns try to help learn about the process so they could help their voters. But this is at least as much focused on what happens after the election.
[Bergen:] In some states, local officials have received forms from the Trump campaign and obtained by CNN with detailed questions about how ballots will be verified, what is being done to store them and secure them. In Wisconsin alone more than 1,800 election clerks have received a two-page questionnaire, seeking personal information and raising specific questions about whether remote voting processes are trustworthy. And in Georgia, clerks received this long list of almost 60 questions, primarily focused on mail-in ballots with questions like what additional security processes are in place to protect mail-in ballots. Election experts say, the questions seem more like a deposition than an effort to collect basic facts.
[Becker:] They're looking to catch election officials may be in a gotcha or something like that, rather than to help their voters and their campaign navigate the process.
[Brown:] A Trump campaign spokesperson says quote, as part of the Trump campaign's efforts to ensure a free and fair election, we have asked County clerks for information so that we can gain a detailed understanding of absentee voting processes. Courting clerks and gathering information ahead of an election isn't unusual, but election officials tell CNN this is more ramped up, aggressive and targeted than in years past. The expansive effort comes as the White House indicates it may not accept results after Election Day.
[Kayleigh Mcenany, White House Press Secretary:] But we want election night to look like a system that's fair, a situation where we know who the president of the United States is on election night. That's how the system is supposed to work.
[Brown:] But election night results are never official. And if the election is contested in court, the responses to the questionnaires could be used by Trump's lawyers. Election experts say one possible election scenario is what is known as the blue shift. With Trump ahead on election night and Biden pulling in front after election night through mail-in ballots.
[Becker:] There is no thing as election night results. They're only partial results and they always have been partial results.
[Brown:] The Biden campaign is also engaged in early outreach to local election officials across the country, though it is more scaled back in the Trump campaign as of now, according to officials. A Biden campaign spokesperson told CNN in a statement, we've made a major early investment in putting voter protection staff on the ground to build relationships with clerks and also to ensure voting goes smoothly. It is clear, Don, that both sides are gearing up for potential battles down the road.
[Lemon:] Indeed. Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Team Trump is hoping Americans just won't notice how he is stoking racial divisions while declaring he is not racist in an attempt to win over black male voters. Plus, Joe Biden reacting to what the president told Bob Woodward about his nuclear system.
[Joe Biden , Presidential Nominee:] He seems to have no conception of what constitutes national security. No conception of anything other than what can he do to promote himself.