Chalk this one up to a win for election integrity in a key Rust Belt battleground state. On Monday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed suit against the Milwaukee Elections Commission over concerns over poll watcher access. On Tuesday - Election Day - Milwaukee confirmed that they will respect and observe the rights of the public to observe the process. In an emailed press release after the city's move, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump stated:

This is a huge win for election integrity. The RNC fought to ensure poll watcher access, and as a result of our lawsuit, the Milwaukee Elections Commission has addressed our concerns and protected public observation. We are committed to protecting transparency in our elections, and will continue to monitor in Milwaukee and across the country to secure fair and proper access

We originally covered this story on Monday:

See Related: Republican National Committee Sues Milwaukee Over Poll Watchers

Over the weekend, the Milwaukee Elections Commission had announced that "certain precincts" would be limited to one Democrat and one Republican poll watcher. The specific precincts were not described, which would appear to violate the requirement that "any election observer" must be able to "readily observe all aspects of the voting process." Since the specific precincts were not named, it's unclear how the Milwaukee Elections Commission plans to ensure that there is an official RNC (or, for that matter, DNC) poll watcher onsite to observe the counting of ballots.

Wisconsin is one of the key battlegrounds, in which every single vote may well end up counting. Unlike most of the Rust Belt, Wisconsin has a strong leavening of rural and small-town voters, more so than Michigan and Pennsylvania. And, along with the rest of the Rust Belt states, early voting indicators in Wisconsin seem (broadly) to favor the Trump/Vance ticket.

See Related: Early Voting Indicators Should Have Dems Biting Their Thumbs

To that end, also on Monday, I wrote:

Wisconsin, in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average, is a nail-biter. RCP has Kamala Harris leading by 0.4 points - well within any poll's margin of error. But while Wisconsin polls have been fairly consistent, the most recent survey cited, a The Hill/Emerson poll conducted 10/24-10/29, lists the contest as a dead tie. That may or may not be significant, depending on how much pollsters have adapted their models since the last go-around. Donald Trump, in 2016 and 2020, outperformed polling numbers in Wisconsin, despite losing the state to Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump's prospects in Wisconsin, then, may well be better than expected. Most of Wisconsin is more white and more small-town/rural than the rest of the Rust Belt, and those are cohorts that tend to skew more to the right - and enthusiasm on the right seems to be pretty good in this election. If Trump manages to take Wisconsin this year, it will likely be part of a larger Rust Belt sweep that will put him back in the White House.

See Related: Wisconsin Election Preview: Will the Badger State Turn Red?

This concession by the city of Milwaukee's Elections Commission will go a long way towards assuring the integrity of this vital election.

You can view the original lawsuit here.