Transition Integrity Project

The Transition Integrity Project (TIP) is a bipartisan group of over

100 current and former senior government and campaign leaders, Transition Integrity Project
academics, journalists, polling experts and former federal and state Formation 2019
government officials formed out of concern about potential Type Political elections
disruptions to 2020 United States presidential election and transition
monitoring group
by the Republican National Committee.[1][2][3] The organization was
formed in late 2019.[4] Location United States
Region United States
Key Rosa Brooks
Contents people
Michael Steele
Background John Podesta
Concerns about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential
election
History
Concerns of Trump loyalists
War games
Criticism
References

Background
The Transition Integrity Project was initially convened by Rosa Brooks, a law professor at Georgetown and
former Pentagon senior official, and Nils Gilman, a former vice chancellor of the University of California,
Berkeley and historian at the Berggruen Institute. Other members of the Transition Integrity Project include:
Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee; John Podesta, former White House
Chief of Staff to former President of the United States Bill Clinton; former Michigan Governor Jennifer
Granholm, former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, former Democratic National Committee Acting
Chair Donna Brazile, and journalists William Kristol, Edward Luce, Max Boot and David Frum[3][5][6].

Concerns about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election

History

Peaceful presidential transitions are seen as a hallmark of republican democracy in the United States.[7] Even
when there have been rancorous differences between the political parties and their presidential nominees, the
defeated party nominee has always conceded the presidency to the electoral winner.

Trump's own statements have fueled concerns about the peaceful transition of power. For example, this
exchange from an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News on July 19, 2020.
 WALLACE: Are you suggesting that you might not accept the results of the election?

TRUMP: No. I have to see. Look, Hillary Clinton asked me the same thing.

WALLACE: No, I asked you the same thing at the debate.

TAPE: Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016

WALLACE: There is a tradition in this country – in fact, one of the prides of this country – is the
peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of
the campaign that the loser concedes to the winner. Not saying that you're necessarily going to be
the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes
together in part for the good of the country. Are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to
that principle?

TRUMP: What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense.
OK?[8][9][10]

A day later, Trump also tweeted about postponing the 2020 election, spurring the concerns that he might
attempt to delay the election due to unspecified and unsubstantiated voter fraud. "With Universal Mail-In
Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT
Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly,
securely and safely vote???"[11] In the history of the United States, the Presidential Election has never been
postponed, and the President does not have the legal power to delay an election, whose date is set by an 1845
law.[12][13][14][15] Representative Jerry Nadler, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee noted that only the
Congress has the authority to change laws that deal with the date of the election.[16]

Trump also claimed that mail balloting leads to widespread fraud, making a false distinction between Universal
Mail-In Voting and Absentee Voting. "Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote for the many senior citizens,
military, and others who can't get to the polls on Election Day. These ballots are very different from 100%
Mail-In Voting, which is 'RIPE for FRAUD,' and shouldn’t be allowed!"[17][18]

Trump has also claimed that Democrats' efforts to expand the availability of mail-in voting and ballot collection
will result in widespread voter fraud.[19] Democrats see this as Trump laying the groundwork for a contested
election. This outcome could be especially likely in the event of a so-called "Red Mirage", where Trump
appears to have won on election night but actually loses after all of the mail-in ballots have been tallied.[20]
Democrats also became concerned that Trump might interfere with the ability of the United States Postal
Service to deliver ballots.[21]

Concerns of Trump loyalists

Trump and his Republican allies believe that the Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation) began as an attempt
by the Obama administration to derail his candidacy and then continued, after his inauguration, as a means to
undermine his presidency.[22] Likewise, the Mueller investigation [23] and the impeachment of Donald Trump
are seen as partisan attempts to harm his 2020 reelection chances.[24] On multiple occasions Joe Biden
commented on the possibility of the military or the secret service forcibly removing Trump from the White
House if he loses the election but refuses to leave.[25][26] Hillary Clinton, who was defeated by Trump in
2016, said "Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances because I think this is going to drag out,
and eventually I do believe he will win if we don't give an inch and if we are as focused and relentless as the
other side is."[27][28][29] Republicans fear that Democrats' attempts to expand postal voting and ballot
collection could lead to Democratic operatives stuffing ballots in key locations once they know the election
night results.[30][31][32]

War games
In the summer of 2020, TIP conducted a series of war-gaming exercises.[33] The scenarios[4][34] examined by
TIP included:

1. Game One: Ambiguous. The first game investigated a scenario in which the outcome of the
election remained unclear from election night and throughout gameplay. The results from three
states are in contention and ballots are destroyed in one of the states, making it unclear who
should have won that state. Neither campaign is willing to concede.
2. Game Two: Clear Biden Victory. Biden wins both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
Trump alleges fraud and takes steps to benefit himself and his family but ultimately hands the
White House over to Biden.
3. Game Three: Clear Trump Win. The third scenario started with an Electoral College victory for
President Trump (286 to 252), but a popular vote win (52% to 47%) for former Vice President
Biden. In this scenario Biden refused to concede, convinced the Democratic governors of two
states that Trump won to send separate slates of electors to the Electoral College, encouraged
three states to threaten secession and convinced the House of Representatives to refuse to
certify the election and declare Biden the victor.
4. Game Four: Narrow Biden Win. The final scenario explored a narrow Biden win where he
leads with less than 1% of the popular vote and has a slim lead at 278 electoral votes. The
Trump campaign sows chaos but Senate Republicans and the Joint Chiefs of Staff eventually
signal that they accept Biden's win. Trump refuses to leave and is removed by the Secret
Service.

In August 2020, TIP released a report[4] outlining its findings and recommendations. The report stated, "We
[…] assess that the [sic] President Trump is likely to contest the result by both legal and extra-legal means, in
an attempt to hold onto power. Recent events, including the President's own unwillingness to commit to
abiding by the results of the election, the Attorney General's embrace of the President's groundless electoral
fraud claims, and the unprecedented deployment of federal agents to put down leftwing protests, underscore
the extreme lengths to which President Trump may be willing to go in order to stay in office."[4] The report's
intention was to inspire the necessary changes to ensure a fair election in 2020. "These risks can be mitigated;
the worst outcomes of the exercises are far from a certainty. The purpose of this report is not to frighten, but to
spur all stakeholders to action."[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]

Criticism
Critics have pointed out that while the Transition Integrity Project is bipartisan, it only included Democrats and
disaffected Republicans[42] and was primarily funded by former members of the Obama administration.[43]
Critics also theorized that the only scenario where one side refused to concede a clear win by the other side
was the "Clear Trump Win", where the Biden team refused to accept the results of a Trump victory, tried to
compromise the Electoral College, and encouraged several Western states to secede from the Union.[44][45]

References
1. "Bipartisan Group Predicts 'Violence' When Trump Loses Election and Refuses to Leave His
House" (https://www.newsweek.com/bipartisan-group-predicts-violence-if-trump-loses-election-
 refuses-leave-white-house-1520561). newsweek.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
2. "A Bipartisan group secretly gathered to game out a contested Trump-Biden election. It wasn't
pretty" (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/25/nation/bipartisan-group-secretly-gathered-ga
me-out-contested-trump-biden-election-it-wasnt-pretty/). BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved
February 9, 2020.
3. Frum, David (July 31, 2020). "Where the System May Break" (https://www.theatlantic.com/idea
s/archive/2020/07/how-2020-election-could-go-wrong/614842/). The Atlantic. Retrieved
August 9, 2020.
4. "Transition Integrity Project: Preventing a disrupted presidential election and transition" (https://
www.documentcloud.org/documents/7013152-Preventing-a-Disrupted-Presidential-Election-an
d.html#document/p1). Documentcloud. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
5. Beauchamp, Zack (August 19, 2020). "How to avert a post-election nightmare" (https://www.vo
x.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8/18/21371964/2020-transition-integrity-project-simulation-trum
p). Vox. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
6. Goldberg, Michelle (August 17, 2020). "Opinion | Trump Might Cheat. Activists Are Getting
Ready" (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/opinion/trump-contested-election-protests.html).
The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved
August 24, 2020.
7. "Presidential Inaugurations: Traditions & Transitions" (https://www.whitehousehistory.org/presid
ential-inaugurations-traditions-transitions). WhiteHouseHistory.org. The White House Historical
Association. Retrieved September 15, 2020. "The peaceful transfer of presidential power from
one administration to the next is a hallmark of American democracy. This transition, both
peaceful and symbolic of continuity and change, continues to amaze the world and represents
the best of American democracy."
8. {{Cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Michelle|date=2020-07-19|title=Transcript: 'Fox News Sunday'
interview with President Trump|language=en-US|work=Fox News
Sunday|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/transcript-fox-news-sunday-interview-with-
president-trump%7Caccess-date=2020-09-21}
9. Blizter, Ronn (July 19, 2020). "Trump pushes back against critics on coronavirus, addresses
whether he will accept election results in exclusive interview" (https://www.foxnews.com/politic
s/trump-pushes-back-against-critics-on-coronavirus-addresses-whether-he-will-accept-election
-results-in-exclusive-interview). Fox News. Retrieved September 15, 2020. "'No, I'm not going
to just say yes. I'm not going to say no, and I didn't last time either.'"
10. Gellman, Barton (September 23, 2020). "The Election That Could Break America" (https://www.
theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/?fbclid=IwA
R0_DdlIx-GQvHMK3JLIFBEiE-hA5gmrFhQse_hIvi_aKzWMQf5UNOxGPl4). The Atlantic.
Retrieved September 24, 2020.
11. Donald J Trump [@realDonaldTrump] (July 30, 2020). "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not
Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT
Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people
can properly, securely and safely vote???" (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1288818
160389558273?s) (Tweet). Retrieved September 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
12. "An act to establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors of Presidents and Vice
Presidents" (https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/28th-congress/session-2/c28s2ch1.
pdf) (PDF). Acts of the Twenty-Eighth Congress of the United States. January 23, 1845.
Retrieved September 27, 2020.
13. "Can Trump Delay the 2020 Election? Here's What the Constitution Says" (https://www.bloomb
erg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-13/can-trump-postpone-2020-election-here-s-what-constitutio
n-says). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
14. "Why Trump Has No Power to Delay the 2020 Election" (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/
us/politics/trump-postpone-election.html). nytimes.com. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
15. "Could Trump delay the November election? Not without risking forfeit to a Democrat" (https://w
ww.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-03-17/no-trump-cant-postpone-the-november-election-but-t
hats-the-first-question). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
16. Rep Jerry Nadler [@RepJerryNadler] (July 30, 2020). "Let's be clear: Trump does not have the
ability to delay the election. Our elections are enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitution
also says that if the date of the election is to be changed, it must be changed by Congress" (http
s://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1288835363109326848) (Tweet). Retrieved
September 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
17. Donald J Trump [@realDonaldTrump] (April 8, 2020). "Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote
for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can't get to the polls on Election Day.
These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is 'RIPE for FRAUD,' and
shouldn't be allowed!" (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1248031484532928514)
(Tweet). Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
18. "Trump says voting by mail isn't reliable. What does the evidence show?" (https://www.pbs.org/
newshour/show/trump-says-voting-by-mail-isnt-reliable-what-does-the-evidence-show). PBS
NewsHour. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
19. Donald J Trump [@realDonaldTrump] (April 8, 2020). "Absentee Ballots are a great way to vote
for the many senior citizens, military, and others who can't get to the polls on Election Day.
These ballots are very different from 100% Mail-In Voting, which is 'RIPE for FRAUD,' and
shouldn't be allowed!" (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1248031484532928514)
(Tweet). Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
20. Talev, Margaret (September 1, 2020). "Dem group warns of apparent Trump Election Day
landslide" (https://www.axios.com/bloomberg-group-trump-election-night-scenarios-a554e8f5-9
702-437e-ae75-d2be478d42bb.html). Axios. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
21. Shear, Michael D.; Fuchs, Hailey; Vogel, Kenneth (July 31, 2020). "Mail Delays Fuel Concern
Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting" (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/u
s/politics/trump-usps-mail-delays.html). The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
22. Wise, Justin (June 11, 2020). "Biden says military will escort Trump from White House if he
loses and refuses to leave" (https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/502213-biden-says-trump-
will-have-an-escort-from-the-white-house-if-he-refuses-to). The Hill. Retrieved September 17,
2020. "It was the Obama Administration that tried to subvert an election by spying on the Trump
campaign in 2016 and Biden himself was part of the effort to sabotage the incoming Trump
Administration because they couldn’t live with President Trump’s victory."
23. Polantz, Katelyn (August 4, 2020). "Trump believed Russia investigation undermined his world
standing, Sessions told Mueller" (https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/politics/mueller-investigatio
n-notes/index.html). CNN. Retrieved September 17, 2020. "A Chinese leader had said to
Trump he was sorry Trump was under investigation, and Trump took that as a signal that his
authority was undermined by the investigation."
24. Hannity, Sean (August 4, 2020). "Remember, Dems impeached Trump in attempt to hurt his
reelection chances" (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/dems-impeached-trump-to-hurt-reelecti
on-chances-sean-hannity). Fox News. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
25. Klien, Rick (September 20, 2020). "The Note: Trump cedes ground across the board to Biden"
(https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/note-trump-cedes-ground-board-biden/story?id=71868695).
ABC News. Retrieved September 17, 2020. "The American people will decide this election.
And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White
House."
26. Wise, Justin (June 11, 2020). "Biden says military will escort Trump from White House if he
loses and refuses to leave" (https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/502213-biden-says-trump-
will-have-an-escort-from-the-white-house-if-he-refuses-to). The Hill. Retrieved September 17,
2020. "I promise, I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with
great dispatch."
27. Concha, Joe (August 25, 2020). "Hillary Clinton: Biden 'should not concede under any
circumstances' " (https://thehill.com/homenews/media/513527-hillary-clinton-biden-should-not-
concede-under-any-circumstances). The Hill. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
28. Shabad, Rebecca (August 26, 2020). "Hillary Clinton says Biden should not concede the
election 'under any circumstances' " (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/hillary-cli
nton-says-biden-should-not-concede-2020-election-under-n1238156). NBC News. Retrieved
September 17, 2020.
29. Anton, Michael (September 4, 2020). "The Coming Coup?" (https://americanmind.org/essays/th
e-coming-coup/). The American Mind. Retrieved September 17, 2020. "About a month later,
Hillary Clinton declared publicly that Joe Biden should not concede the election 'under any
circumstances.' The old English major in me interprets the word 'any' to mean 'no,' 'none,'
'nada,' 'niente,' 'zero,' 'zilch,' 'bupkis'…you get the idea."
30. von Spakovsky, Hans (August 25, 2020). "Democrats Versus the Vote" (https://americanmind.or
g/essays/democrats-versus-the-vote/). The American Mind. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
31. McDaniel, Ronna (May 22, 2020). "Democrats and voter fraud in Nevada—here's how it will
impact you" (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/democrats-voter-fraud-nevada-rnc-chair-mdcani
el). Fox News. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
32. Thiessen, Marc A. (August 6, 2020). "Mail-in voting could accidentally disenfranchise millions
of voters" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/06/mail-in-voting-could-accident
ally-disenfranchise-millions-voters/). The Washington Examiner. Retrieved September 17,
2020. "If a candidate is narrowly behind on election night, what is to stop their supporters from
sending in a slew of ballots after Election Day—especially in states that permit 'ballot
harvesting,' where campaign workers collect absentee ballots in bulk?"
33. Brooks, Rosa. "What's the worst that could happen?" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/outloo
k/2020/09/03/trump-stay-in-office/). Washington Post. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
34. "Experts Game Out What Might Happen If The Election Goes Off The Rails" (https://www.npr.or
g/2020/07/30/897345056/experts-game-out-what-might-happen-if-the-election-goes-off-the-rail
s). NPR.org.
35. Blow, Charles M. (August 23, 2020). "Trump's Campaign of Chaos" (https://www.nytimes.com/2
020/08/23/opinion/trump-2020.html). The New York Times. ISSN 1542-667X (https://www.world
cat.org/issn/1542-667X). Retrieved August 30, 2020.
36. Lach, Eric. "What Happens if Donald Trump Fights the Election Results?" (https://www.newyork
er.com/news/campaign-chronicles/what-happens-if-donald-trump-fights-the-election-results).
The New Yorker. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
37. Beauchamp, Zack (August 18, 2020). "How to avert a post-election nightmare" (https://www.vo
x.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8-18-21371964/2020-transition-integrity-project-simulationtrum
p). Vox. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
38. Bouie, Jamelle (August 11, 2020). "How to Foil Trump's Election Night Strategy" (https://www.n
ytimes.com/2020/08/11/opinion/trump-election-day.html). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-
4331 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved August 30, 2020.
39. Tolliver, Sandy (August 11, 2020). "Will Pence choose partisanship over statesmanship in
counting ballots?" (https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/511308-will-harris-choose-partisans
hip-over-statesmanship-in-counting-ballots). The Hill. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
40. Will Americans Trust the Election Process? (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-08-
03/will-americans-trust-the-election-process-video), retrieved August 30, 2020
41. Smith, Ben (August 2, 2020). "How the DNC Could Get the Election Story Wrong" (https://www.
nytimes.com/2020/08/02/business/media/election-coverage.html). The New York Times.
ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved August 30, 2020.
42. Cockburn (August 6, 2020). "Top Democrats contemplate civil war if Biden loses" (https://spect
ator.us/top-democrats-contemplate-civil-war-biden-loses/). The Spectator. Retrieved
September 17, 2020.
43. Kassam, Raheem; Winters, Natalie (September 14, 2020). "Obama Lawyers Fund 'Transition
Integrity' Group Which Claims to Be 'Non-Partisan', Tied to Hunter Biden" (https://thenationalpul
se.com/news/transition-integrity-project-linked-to-obama-lawyers-hunter-biden/). The National
Pulse. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
44. York, Byron (August 5, 2020). "Maybe it's Democrats who won't accept election loss" (https://w
ww.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/byron-yorks-daily-memo-maybe-its-democrats-who-wont
-accept-election-loss). The Washington Examiner. Retrieved September 17, 2020. "In only one
of the scenarios did a candidate win a clear victory and the opposing candidate refuse to
accept the result. And the loser who refused to accept the result was Joe Biden—not Donald
Trump."
45. Saunders, Debra J. (August 9, 2020). "Anti-Trumpers Spout Radical Ideas for 2020 Election" (h
ttps://spectator.org/transition-integrity-project-biden-campaign/). The American Spectator.
Retrieved September 17, 2020.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Transition_Integrity_Project&oldid=981158323"

This page was last edited on 30 September 2020, at 16:42 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.