You’ve heard of the Republicans’ vaunted GOTV effort, right? Well, it seems they also have more sinister plan, not to get out the vote, but to stop the voters, particularly if they are Democrats. The GOP handbook for their poll watchers in Maryland literally coaches them on how to challenge voters and intimidate election officials (via The Washington Post:
A recently distributed guide for Republican poll watchers in Maryland spells out how to aggressively challenge the credentials of voters and urges these volunteers to tell election judges they could face jail time if a challenge is ignored.
Democrats said yesterday they consider the handbook, obtained by The Washington Post, evidence of a Republican effort to block people from voting Tuesday.
“The tenor of the material is that they are asking folks, if not directing them, to challenge voters,” said Bruce L. Marcus, an attorney for the state Democratic Party. “It’s really tantamount to a suppression effort.”
Advocacy groups including the National Campaign for Fair Elections, Common Cause and the NAACP, as well as a George Washington University professor who is an expert on voter suppression, agreed with that assessment.
Who knew the slogan “Just say no” would refer to how Republicans feel about democracy?
The GOP poll-watcher program, outlined in a 13-page document, states: “Your most important duty as a poll worker is to challenge people who present themselves to vote but who are not authorized to vote.”
It cautions, “Undoubtedly, the challenge process will be awkward and may cause consternation on the part of the challenged voter as well as the judges.” It advises, “If there is cause to make a challenge, you should not hesitate to do so merely because it upsets the challenged voter or the election judges.”
It adds, “If the election judge should try to ignore your challenge, point out that they would be committing a criminal offense punishable by not less than 30 days in jail.”
Jonah H. Goldman, director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections, said the program “raises serious concerns.”
“When you have a political party telling people their Number 1 responsibility is to challenge voters, our ears certainly perk up,” Goldman said. “This could either be intended to challenge voters in a discriminatory way or in a disruptive way. A lot of times, they just try to cause chaos and long lines.”
I wonder who they plan on challenging? Could it be people with hispanic names or a darker skin pigmentation than that typically found at the local Council of Conservative Citizens get together? What do you think?
