GOP recruits army of poll watchers to fight voter fraud no one can prove exists

[brooklynite]

Source: NBC News

Republicans are recruiting an estimated 50,000 volunteers to act as "poll watchers" in November, part of a multimillion-dollar effort to police who votes and how.

That effort, coordinated by the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, includes a $20 million fund for legal battles as well as the GOP's first national poll-patrol operation in nearly 40 years.

While poll watching is an ordinary part of elections — both parties do it — voting rights advocates worry that such a moneyed, large-scale offensive by the Republicans will intimidate and target minority voters who tend to vote Democratic and chill turnout in a pivotal contest already upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

Some states allow poll monitors to challenge a voter's eligibility, requiring that person's ballot undergo additional vetting to be counted. In Michigan, for example, a challenged voter will be removed from line and questioned about their citizenship, age, residency and date of voter registration if, according to election rules, a vote challenger has "good reason" to believe they are not eligible. They are required to take an oath attesting that their answers are true and are given a special ballot.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/gop-recruits-army-poll-watchers-fight-voter-fraud-no-can-n1217391?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

[durablend]

1. Of course they will

Many of them probably armed with machine guns (just to make sure dead people or the 'wrong' people don't vote, y'know)

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Maybe we should engage these people on a case by case friendly basis

just to keep an eye on them

[lagomorph777]

11. We need our own army of poll watchers.

Armed with cell phone cameras.

[csziggy]

30. Usually the Democrats have attorneys on call in case the GOP poll watchers

Interfere with people's right to vote. 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 my BIL served in that capacity. He was called out a number of times each election. I'm not sure if he does it the alternate years, could be.

[OrlandoDem2]

3. Intimidating POC is the MO here. And we are in the midst of great racial turmoil.

We must sweep them out of office!

[Renew Deal]

4. Which is why they don't want people to vote by mail.

Those people are harder to intimidate.

[Johnyawl]

19. Exactly!

Vote by mail invalidates so much of their voter suppression tactics.

[Iliyah]

5. Threats to voters . . ..

[bluestarone]

6. I feel that the ONLY purpose for this is

Fill the court system with complaints! Be ready for EVERYTHING to stop Biden from the elected president!! (sound familiar? with last election)

[Snackshack]

7. The Dems...

Need to be doing this across the country. The GOP simply cannot afford to lose #1 the Senate #2 the WH. If Dems only hold on to the House and win the Senate the investigations by the committees the Dems would then be in control of would devastate the GOP. The GOP simply cannot afford to lose. They will do everything they can to ensure that does not happen. The Dems need to start setting up teams of lawyers and observers to ensure that Election Day is fair and that every registered voter has a chance to vote. Also as important is people need to vote the margins cannot be close any election result that is close (< 10%) where a Dem unseats a GOP will be taken to court and challenged. The margins must be such that it is incontrovertible. People need to GOTV in historic numbers.

[mcar]

8. Florida Democratic Party is recruiting poll watchers

For the first time, my county group is really pushing to recruit poll watchers (inside the precincts) and, equally as important, observers (outside the polling place). They've got a team of local lawyers who will be available if we see something untoward.

[Auggie]

9. They'll target swing states and congressional districts

[CanonRay]

10. Might was well call it the Voter Intimidation Squad

[not_the_one]

12. GOOD cameras with telephoto lens...

I don't think any of these goons (with the guns who want to scare people off from voting) would be allowed INSIDE the polling place (I may be overly optimistic on that), so they would be strutting around OUTside. Get 'em on video. Have enough battery to last all day. High quality video where they can be identified and doxxed for subverting democracy. Privacy be damned.

For inside the polling booth (where I would assume you would have to be to "challenge" a voter's eligibility) dems should also match with one of ours for every one of theirs.

The dems should NOT sit back and accept this. We have to beat them at their game. TRUTH should win, not intimidation.

[csziggy]

35. Poll watchers are usually allowed inside polling locations

But it varies state by state. For a good overview, see this article:

What are poll watchers and what are they allowed to do?

By Steve Vladeck, CNN
Updated 8:34 AM ET, Sat October 29, 2016

(CNN)With early voting underway in a growing number of states and Donald Trump talking about a "rigged" election and warning about what he says will be voter fraud, there have been significant discussions about "poll watchers," and concerns that certain individuals may try to intimidate their fellow voters.
But what are the rules governing polling places and poll watchers?
As it turns out, the US Constitution gives states the power to regulate the "time, place, and manner" of elections -- which means, in practical terms, that most of the rules governing voting and polling places are made at the state level -- and can therefore vary widely from one jurisdiction to the next. Indeed, questions like whether you need a photo ID to vote, whether it's legal to take a "ballot selfie," or whether you can wear campaign paraphernalia into the voting booth don't currently have national answers, but instead depend upon each state's widely varying rules.

Here's what you need to know:
1) Who/what is a poll watcher and why do states allow them?
The general idea behind poll watchers is that they help promote transparency and openness — not through their actions so much as by simply being in the room. Most states (and the District of Columbia) allow at least some kind of observer in polling places, but the rules for how poll watchers are picked (and by whom) vary from state to state. Most importantly, poll watchers are not just individuals who show up at the precinct on Election Day; virtually every jurisdiction requires that official poll watchers be identified and approved in advance—usually at least two weeks beforehand. And to avoid conflicts of interest or the potential for implicit intimidation, most states do not allow otherwise eligible law enforcement officers or state officials to serve as poll watchers.

MORE: https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/29/politics/poll-watchers-monitors/index.html

Read the whole article, it covers a lot of important points, including the possibility of intimidation.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. My name is Luca Brasi, GOP poll watcher. Be a shame you vote wrong.

[FrodosNewPet]

41. Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes

[Bengus81]

14. To bad KKKobach is busy running for Senate in Kansas, he'd LOVE to help.........

Tried to purge 18,000 off the voting rolls in Kansas mainly because they just might up and vote for a Democrat. He spent years and years and came up with about 8-9 "illegal" voters. Almost all had moved from another State back to Kansas and voted again.

The odds are at least 65+% of those were voting for a Republican.

[Gothmog]

15. The party is gearing up to fight GOP voter suppression

Link to tweet

[samsingh]

16. gop is left with the stupid people by definition

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. Voter SUPPRESSion by Intimidation. . . . nt

[Northof American]

18. GOP recruits Army of White Racist Morons to Suppress Minority Vote

*Headline Corrected

[onetexan]

21. i'm sure these thugs will be armed to their teeth and mask-wearing

[Northof American]

24. Well, I guess you can call it a mask

[onetexan]

26. we usually vote early and i'll make sure to tell them this isn't a Halloween party

[ananda]

20. That's a euphemism for harass and disrupt voting.

nt

[Lonestarblue]

22. The right of a poll watcher to challenge a person's right to vote is especially troublesome.

Here in Texas I can imagine right wingers challenging anyone who is Latino to pull them out of the line and cause enough delay that the person eventually leaves without voting. And of course these watchers will only be in precincts that are heavily minority. Is there any legal mechanism to prevent at least the right of a watcher to challenge a voter if the state allows that?

[UCmeNdc]

28. Why not have people there to challenge the poll watchers?

[Bayard]

23. We already know this will create chaos

A lot of voters, who have already waited in line for hours, are going to say--screw it.

[Turbineguy]

25. Do ah

git to bring ma gunz?

[UCmeNdc]

27. How can the democratic party fight this? Is it possible to organize groups of volunteers to confront

these poll watchers and occupy the poll watcher's attention and limit their time at polling stations to interact with voters trying to vote?

[WMzzzzzz]

29. Fantasy's

All we need are 50,000 people running around fantasizing!

[yaesu]

31. this is just an intimidation squad that most fascists use at the polls. nt

[TheFourthMind]

32. The GOP can't/doesn't legitimately function. It's basically just an anti-Democracy hate group

supported by the dregs of society. No good will EVER come from them.

[keithbvadu2]

33. Are they interested in Trump voter fraud?

Are they interested in Trump voter fraud?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213430758

[sdfernando]

34. They won't be there to fight voter fraud

they will be there to gum up the works.

The Democrats better get on the ball and have people to watch those poll watchers!

[LiberalLovinLug]

39. Dems would be naive to think otherwise.

We need 100,000 just to watch them.

I think, if it looks at all like Trump could lose, even with the voter suppression tactics, the order will go out to as you say "gum up the works" by attacking the polling stations themselves, especially in heavy Democratic districts in swing states. Overturning furniture, and desecrating the ballot boxes, and or machines. In order to negate that station's tallies from being able to be used.

And how exactly does a crowd of MAGAts even stop voter fraud if it were real? Isn't that up to the poll workers inside who check IDs? They have no authority to stop people and check their private information. And even IF they did this and there was a person who was using a fake ID, are they experts in detecting what is fake and what is not?

[ehrnst]

36. I'm thinking they'll be armed, and mean to intimidate voters in certain areas...

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

37. In 1996, Rep. "B-1 Bob" Dornan hired men in green uniforms to stand near polls

in the Hispanic neighborhoods. The uniforms closely resembled those of Immigration agents, and the idea was to intimidate even legal voters.

He lost to Loretta Sanchez.

[SharonClark]

38. I've been a poll watcher for the Dems for many

elections. I was there to record what Dems had voted so the GOTV effort could concentrate on getting those who hadn’t voted yet to the polls.

On the early days we pulled names from ‘walking decks’, now it’s done electronically.

We weren’t there to challenge any voter although I was often asked by the poll workers to vouch for the residency of some voters because I’ve lived in my precinct for so long.

Now, everyone has to show ID so I can no longer vouch for a voter. I can, however, watch what the repugs do and report bad behavior to the Dem lawyers.

[ancianita]

40. Thanks for the info. I'd like to think that watchers aren't a cover for anything else.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

42. There should be lawyers at every poll to challenge

their qualification to be a poll watcher -- especially residency. Run their ass away if they're even a little off. Two can play that game.

[RhodeIslandOne]

43. Many years back on a forum I was on....

....there was a Republican "poll watcher" who clearly had no business doing such a job. Once said if an African American person entered their precinct, they knew their target.

We ran them off the board after trying to get their more personal info to report them.

[Pathwalker]

44. This actually happened to me many years ago in Michigan.

One of the "poll watchers" was a local official with whom I had a "notorious" encounter, and he didn't recognize me until I made a hand gesture that reminded him of just how badly it had gone for him, and that he knew damn well who I was and would be glad to remind him in front of everyone. He backed off so quickly the people who'd gathered around laughed, having figured out how the man knew me. It was, after all, the source of local gossip for quite awhile.

I took my ballot and voted, admittedly smirking.