Bullies at the Ballot Box - Demos

IntroduCtIon
“In recent elections we have received disturbing
reports and complaints about unacceptable, illegal
behavior by observers.”
elections in America should be free, fair, and
accessible. Eligible Americans should not
have to overcome burdensome barriers to
cast their ballots. Unfortunately voters in
recent elections have encountered wrongful
challenges and intimidation as partisan groups have
launched organized efforts in key battleground states
and targeted counties. Given the high stakes, voter
challenges also are expected to be a major tool used by
partisans in the November 2012 elections.
Unwarranted challenges to voters’ eligibility
can lead to problems at the polls for everyone seeking
to cast a ballot by depleting resources, distracting
election administrators and leading to longer lines for
voters. Such activities present a real danger to the fair
administration of elections and to the fundamental
freedom to vote.
wrongFul Challenges
anD intimiDation in 2012:
reasons For ConCern
Although voter challenges have been used for decades
by partisans seeking electoral advantage, 7 a new
threat emerged in 2010 when an organized and wellfunded
Texas-based organization with defined partisan
interests, the King Street Patriots, through its project
True the Vote, was observed intimidating voters at
multiple polling locations serving communities of color
during early voting in Harris County. 8 Members of this
4 • Bullies at the Ballot Box | September 2012
Tea Party-affiliated group reportedly interfered
with voters — allegedly watching them vote, “hovering
over” voters, blocking lines, and engaging in
confrontational conversations with election workers. 9
Under Texas law, poll watchers are not allowed even to
speak to a voter.
These activities have not been limited to Texas.
In a 2011 special election in Massachusetts, a Tea Party
group was reported to have harassed Latino voters
and others at the polls in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
The Southbridge town clerk protested these actions,
reporting that targeted voters left saying, “I’ll never
vote again,” while a retired judge witnessed “citizens
coming from their voting experience shaken or in
tears.” 10
In the June 2012 Wisconsin recall election,
many students reported being challenged by True the
Vote poll watchers, as the organization even mocked
the students on Twitter. 11 The Wisconsin Government
Accountability Board issued a statement saying “in
recent elections we have received disturbing reports
and complaints about unacceptable, illegal behavior
by observers. Voters expect a calm setting in which to
exercise their right to vote.” 12
Now active in 30 states, True the Vote has
made it clear that it intends to ratchet up its activities
in 2012. 13 The group is coordinating efforts throughout
the country to purge the voter rolls, issue citizen
challenges to registrations based on its own criteria and