As early voting for the midterm elections begins to ramp-up, Trump and his allies are recruiting thousands of MAGA poll watchers to intimidate voters, poll workers, and election officials. They are weaponizing a respected role in American politics in an effort to discourage turnout and undermine elections – targeting our ability to vote without fear of harassment or intimidation and trampling on our most fundamental rights and privileges. The MAGA threat to democracy is ongoing, as Trump Republicans continue working to erode our institutions and ensure they have the final say over who wins elections.
TIME: How ‘Stop the Steal’ Became ‘Watch the Polls’. “Poll watchers have long been a feature of American elections, allowed to observe and report back to their party or a local supervisor if they see something that appears amiss. But this year, watching the poll watchers is becoming a full-time job for local election officials. Ahead of the Nov. 8 midterms, tens of thousands of Americans have been recruited to serve in these roles by right-wing groups pushing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. These newly minted poll watchers motivated by election conspiracies plan to show up en masse on Election Day to observe, record on their phones, and in general let both voters and election workers know that they’re being monitored.” [TIME, 10/24/22]
ABC News: Trump Allies Using False Election Claims, Images Of War To Recruit Ex-Military As Poll Workers. “Military planes dropping bombs, battleships at the ready, scores of soldiers marching in the streets — and across the screen flashes the words, ‘Your country needs you once again.’ ‘Beat the cheat,’ the video urges viewers. The footage is from a new recruitment video released by The America Project, an organization led by prominent election deniers Patrick Byrne, the former Overstock.com CEO, and retired general Michael Flynn, a former Trump national security adviser, who have joined forces in the final weeks leading up to the midterm elections to recruit ex-military and first responders to staff polling locations around the country. […] The recruitment of poll workers based on unproven claims of voter fraud has raised alarm bells with some election experts.” [ABC News, 10/25/22]
Axios: Election Officials – Armed “Vigilantes” Near Ballot Drop Box In Arizona. “At least two people in tactical gear and masks and allegedly armed with weapons were watching over a drop box for mail-in ballots in Mesa, Arizona, on Friday, the Maricopa County Elections Department said Saturday. Why it matters: At least two voters have filed complaints of voter intimidation to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) in the past few days, including one claiming ‘camo clad people’ of taking pictures while an early ballot was dropped off outside the Maricopa County election headquarters, according to KNXV-TV, an ABC-affiliated station in Phoenix. The other complaint also alleged that a voter was filmed and accused of “being a mule” while submitting their ballot to a drop box in Maricopa County, KNXV-TV reports. Arizona law prohibits people from entering the 75-foot limit of a voting location with a weapon, which would be considered an unlawful act of voter intimidation. Early voting for the 2022 midterms officially started in the state on Oct. 12.” [Axios, 10/23/22]
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- The Daily Beast: Flynn Group Recruits Cops, Vets for ‘One More Mission’—To Watch Election Sites. “A conservative group led by former Trump national security adviser and election denier Michael Flynn is trying to recruit thousands of police officers to work as poll monitors on Election Day—and reaching out to QAnon conspiracy theorists to aid in its recruitment effort. […] The America Project has spent millions of dollars on conservative election efforts, many of them aimed at promoting “election integrity.” Now with One More Mission, the group aims to recruit tens of thousands more poll watchers with military and police experience, according to a video Byrne posted online. [The Daily Beast, 10/21/22]
- Media Matters: Steve Bannon Defends People Carrying Guns And Wearing Camouflage While Watching Drop Boxes In Arizona. “STEVE BANNON (HOST): The people out there watching the box. They don’t like the way some people are dressed, they don’t like them in cammies, they don’t like them, you know, in Arizona law you can have the open carry, they don’t like that. They’re running around, it’s not gonna change, you can run, and do anything you want. The camera and people are going to be there watching. We’re not going to have this stolen, you’re not going to have 2000 mules situation in these boxes. People have made the decision to do it.” [Media Matters for America, 10/25/22]
The Washington Post: Pro-Trump Republicans Court Election Volunteers To ‘Challenge Any Vote’. “Supporters of former president Donald Trump who falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen have summoned a swarm of poll watchers and workers in battleground states to spot potential fraud this year. It is a call to action that could subject voting results around the country to an unprecedented level of suspicion and unfounded doubt. ‘We’re going to be there and enforce those rules, and we’ll challenge any vote, any ballot, and you’re going to have to live with it, OK?’ one-time Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon said on a recent episode of his podcast. ‘We don’t care if you don’t like it. We don’t care if you’re going to run around and light your hair on fire. That’s the way this is going to roll.’” [Washington Post, 10/25/22]
Las Vegas Review-Journal: ‘Prepare For The Worst’: Election Officials Increase Security To Protect Workers From Threats. “Outside the Clark County Election Department building in North Las Vegas, security cameras scope out the parking lot. Staff swipe their badges to get to certain areas of the cavernous warehouse. Observers wanting to see the election process in action will be escorted by staff as the officials count mail-in ballots. Counties have increased security amid a reported rise in intimidation and threats against election workers across the country. In Clark County, Nevada’s most populous, Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria said he has not heard concerns from election workers about safety, but the county is prepared just in case.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/24/22]
Washington Post: The Effort To Break America’s Elections. “There are a number of groups that have recruited Trump-sympathetic volunteers to “watch” the polls and vote-counting. Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who eagerly joined Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, has been training volunteers to staff polling places with an eye toward catching “fraud” — an effort supported by the Republican Party. […] It is not new that candidates or political parties send people to polling places to observe what’s happening. But those individuals, like those tasked with observing vote-counting, are trained. They’re instructed on what is and isn’t normal and when it is and isn’t appropriate to raise a challenge with an official at a polling-place. Ginning up an ad hoc group of poll watchers is something very different — as is tasking people with going to the polls under the assumption that illegality is underway.” [Washington Post, 10/24/22]
PennLive Patriot-News: Election Officials See Spike In Number Of Poll Watchers Amid Increased Threats And Intimidation. “Despite a general tenor of threats and intimidation aimed at election workers, officials from across counties and the state say the numbers of people who have stepped up to be poll watchers is on the uptick. Groups from across the partisan spectrum have lined up to be monitors on Election Day. [PennLive Patriot-News, 10/25/22]
