#Voter Intimidation

[originalleftist]

You have a right to a secret ballot.

Anyone trying to take that away from you by coercion is committing a crime.

You are free to tell them to go fuck themselves.

If you cannot safely do so for fear of retaliation, then 100%, lie.

From the October 31, 2024 article:

“In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want. And no one will ever know,” Roberts says in the ad as a woman on screen meets up with her husband after casting her ballot for Harris.

The voter winks at a fellow female voter as her husband asks if she made the “right choice.”

Republicans have responded to the video with outrage, with some claiming that a wife lying about her vote is as bad as an affair.

“If I found out Emma was going to the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that’s the same thing as having an affair,” Fox News host Jesse Watters said on air Wednesday in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

Other GOP members including Charlie Kirk said the thought was “nauseating.”

[thashining]

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

On August 20, a little before dawn, 87 year-old Lidia Martinez was abruptly jarred awake by an unexpected knock on her door. The longtime activist who for over 35 years has worked to expand voter registration among seniors and veterans in south Texas, cautiously peered out the door. Standing on her doorstep were nine police officers dressed in tactical gear and carrying firearms. After showing her a search warrant, Martinez’s home was searched as she was forced to stand outside in her nightgown in her driveway in full view of her neighbors. Martinez was later questioned for three hours after which the police seized her phone, computer, personal calendar and more.

[...]

These bad faith searches orchestrated by Paxton were predicated on the claim that the people being investigated were registering non-citizens to vote—despite zero evidence presented of wrongdoing. Very alarmingly, if Donald Trump and House GOP have their way, these types of raids would be happening nationwide with federal law enforcement under a GOP President.  That is why GOP House Speaker Johnson is now demanding the proposed SAVE Act be included in any deal to provide funding to keep the government open.

To be clear, federal and state law already makes it a crime for non-citizens to vote. But this new federal legislation would establish criminal penalties for registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentation proving U.S. citizenship.  That means that what we are seeing in Texas is coming attractions of what the GOP wants to do nationally.

Keep in mind despite Texas AG Paxton’s two year investigation, no charges  have been filed against any of the people whose homes were searched.  Indeed, there may never be charges because even Paxton’s basis for the search is BS. In his press release announcing the investigation, the Texas AG presents no evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, Paxton makes baseless claims like these organizations have set up voter registration booths outside state agencies where people could register inside. Paxton’s press release literally includes this question with no answer: “Why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside?” But nowhere in his press release does he even allege any criminal conduct—only questions.

And Paxton—a close ally of convicted felon Trump—showed his bad faith earlier in August on a radio show when he peddled lies about non-citizens voting. Paxton declared, “There’s a reason Joe Biden brought people here illegally. I’m convinced that that’s how they’re going to do it this time, they’re going to use the illegal vote. Why were they brought in, why did he bring in 14 million people?” adding, “He brought them here to vote.”   That is nothing more than the type of BS you hear on Fox News. But now Paxton has weaponized government by targeting people registering those he believes will vote for Democrats. The backlash to Paxton’s actions have been swift. LULAC requested that the Department of  Justice investigate Paxton's office for Voting Rights Act violations. LULAC CEO Juan Proaño and the group's national president, Roman Palomares, summed up well what is really going in their letter to the DOJ: "These actions echo a troubling history of voter suppression and intimidation that has long targeted both Black and Latino communities, particularly in states like Texas, where demographic changes have increasingly shifted the political landscape.”

The Texas GOPs voter intimidation tactics are based on the faux outrage campaign against noncitizen voting.

[odinsblog]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending the police to people’s HOMES for the ‘crime’ of signing a pro-choice petition

Isaac Menasche remembers being at the Cape Coral farmer’s market last year when someone asked him if he’d sign a petition to get Florida’s abortion amendment on the ballot.

He said yes — and he told a law enforcement officer as much when one showed up at the door of his Lee County home earlier this week.

Menasche said he was surprised when the plainclothes officer twice asked if it was really Menasche who had signed the petition. The officer said he was looking into potential petition fraud.

Though the officer was professional and courteous, Menasche, who has had little interaction with police in his life, said the encounter left him shaken.

“I'm not a person who is going out there protesting for abortion,” Menasche said. “I just felt strongly and I took the opportunity when the person asked me, to say yeah, I'll sign that petition.”

The officer's visit appears to be part of a broad - and unusual — effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to inspect thousands of already verified and validated petitions for Amendment 4 in the final two months before Election Day. The amendment would overturn Florida's six-week abortion ban by proposing to protect abortion access in Florida until viability.

(continue reading)

[thundergrace]

There's already so much going on. Please spread these numbers.

[originalleftist]

IMPORTANT!

[aqlstar]

Could be foreign interference, could be crazy right wingers masquerading as crazy left wingers…

Could be crazy right wingers who hate Jews so much they inadvertently look like crazy left wingers.

The possibilities are endless.

Are we freeing Palestine yet?

[lasseling]

Numbers to call if you witnessed or experienced voter intimidation, harrassment or fraud. Save this to your phone.

[lifewithchronicpain]

I said live/vote because some people are registered to vote in one place but are not living there for various reasons such as being military posted abroad.

I’m from a deep blue/red state, why should I vote?

I live in Massachusetts, my state will undoubtedly go blue for Harris and re-elect Senator Warren. Still, I will happily vote, not only to show my support for Harris and Warren, but also because there is so much more on your ballot and it’s just as important as the presidential election. You should vote because:

1) The House of Representatives is up for reelection every 2 years. While gerrymandering helps the GOP gain a majority, there are still many districts where they could flip blue if more left leaning voters turned out. In order for Harris to implement many of her promises, she needs a Democratic House to pass them.

2) 1/3 if all Senate seats are up for reelection. Once again, Harris needs a Democratic Senate to pass the bills with her plans in them.

3) Every state has local elections where maybe you won’t influence congress or the presidency, but you can still help elect progressive local candidates. In fact, these are some of the most important races. They pass laws that directly affect you, and for things like Secretary of State, they handle all elections. If your state is gerrymandered to hell and back, a progressive Secretary of State would be one way to combat voter suppression by the GOP.

4) Every state has ballot questions that directly impact your lives. Right now, 10 states have abortion questions on the ballot: (AZ, NV, CO, MD, NY, FL, MO, MT, NE, & SD) Ohio has a referendum that could end gerrymandering. They are one of the direct ways you can impact life in your state.

5) Last, but not least, even if you’re not in a swing state, every single vote still counts towards a popular vote. While it doesn’t decide the election, Trump is such a self absorbed ass that a huge popular vote against him will hurt just as much as losing the election via the electoral college. Vote to bruise is massive ego.

Vote.org is a wonderful site that can help you register, check that you are registered (been a lot of voter purges lately), see what’s on your ballot and more. Remember, if your vote didn’t matter, then the GOP wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop you from voting!

[alwaysbewoke]

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Texans claim mailer supporting former President Trump is voter intimidation | MY SAN ANTONIO

By Warren Brown

A political mailer sent to residents of multiple cities across the Lone Star State is going viral for alleged voter intimidation. The mailer includes an ominous threat to notify former President Donald Trump if registered Republicans don't vote.

“Your voting record is public… Your neighbors are watching and will know if you miss this critical runoff election. We will notify President Trump if you don’t vote. You can’t afford to have that on your record,” reads one side of the mailer. On the other side, the mailer states, “Please don’t make us report you to President Trump” and that “President Trump will be VERY DISAPPOINTED.”

The political piece of mail has been delivered to separate ends of the state and has been met with shock and outrage from viewers alleging voter intimidation. Redditors report receiving it in Victoria and Denton — southeast of San Antonio and the northern part of Dallas-Fort Worth, respectively — showing a wide geographic distribution of the letter.

MySA reached out to the office of the Secretary of State but did not receive a response. The Texas Ethics Commission's general counsel, James Tinley, told MySA in an email, "the TEC is generally prohibited from commenting on or even confirming or denying whether a complaint has been filed," and does not have jurisdiction over claims of voter intimidation.

A logo for the "America First Conservatives Election Dept" is seen on one side of the mailer, but a search for the organization was unable to tie the letter to a specific organization. A presorted postage marker can be seen in one of the images floating around and includes a permit number. MySA reached out the United States Postal Service in hopes of identifying a sender. A USPS representative was unable to provide an immediate answer.

The sender is likely safe from criminal prosecution from the state, as the Texas election code says retaliation against a voter, the state's legal term for intimidation, requires a person to knowingly harm or threaten to harm the voter by an unlawful act. The threat to notify Trump is too vague to qualify.

However, federal law is a different case. It includes a broader term for "intimidation of voters" and targets "Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President..."

Reddit users didn't hold back their distaste for the letter, with user hardman52 reporting he received it Wednesday in a post to the Denton subreddit.

"What are they even implying here?...that Trump is going to put you on the list for the train to the concentration camps?" said user MaverickTTT. "These people are fucking deranged."

A user in Victoria near the Texas coast also created a post about receiving the mailer. They note the letter could come "from either side of the political spectrum."

"This could be work from either an extreme right-wing party member hoping to scare us into voting for Trump or (the less likely scenario) an extreme left-wing party member hoping to paint Trump in a bad light," hoopur told MySA in a direct message on Reddit.

User Dentony5 tells MySA they believe the mailer is "part of an internal fight within the Texas GOP" and is tied to far right elements aiming to get Trump supporters to the polls. Hoopur separately mentioned the possibility of the letter coming from either side of the aisle.

In either scenario, hoopur identifies one part of the population they believe is more likely to react to the mailer at the voting booth.

"This would easily fool an elderly person or a new generation of voter, who does not know exactly how protected they are," hoopur writes. "Nobody wants their 'vote' to be publicized, let along criticized, by the community. The noticed claiming 'your neighbors [who we insinuate vote for Trump] will be upset,' would obviously persuade (scare) them into voting for the candidate."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Morgan Stephens at Daily Kos:

With a competitive House race in the balance, arsonists set democracy on fire.  Early Monday morning, ballot boxes at two locations in the Pacific Northwest were destroyed by fire—one in Vancouver, Washington, and another in Portland, Oregon—with election officials estimating that “hundreds of ballots” may have been burned. In Portland, Oregon, police found that an incendiary device had been placed inside a voting drop box. However, a fire suppressant inside the box protected all but three ballots, and the local elections office planned to reach out to the affected voters to help them obtain replacement ballots. Shortly thereafter, another fire was set at a ballot box in Vancouver, Washington, near a public transit center. Clark County Elections Auditor Greg Kimsey confirmed to Forbes that mail-in ballots dropped off in the receptacle over the weekend had not been picked up, and that “hundreds” have been destroyed. He urged voters who dropped their ballot in the box at Fisher's Landing Transit Center after 11 AM PT Saturday to contact Clark County Elections for a replacement. 

[...] At the presidential level, Washington and Oregon are historically solid Democratic states, with Joe Biden winning them in 2020 by over 19 percentage points and 16 points, respectively. However, there’s a crucial House race in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District between Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent, whom Donald Trump endorsed. She narrowly won in 2022, with a margin of 2,633 votes over Kent, who also ran that year. Her victory was a shock in this red-tinted district, which 538 calculated as having a partisan lean of R+11.2.

MAGA voter intimidation games are going on, as hundreds of thousands of ballots got burned in key Democratic strongholds such as Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Washington, and Phoenix, Arizona in recent days.

See Also:

Arizona Republic: Phoenix police ID suspect in connection with mailbox fire where ballots burned

[super-firepaw119]

Hundreds of early voter ballots were destroyed in an arson attack in both Washington & Oregon

Officials are already working to give those affected replacement ballots.

Do not let these extremists intimidate you.

Vote.

EDIT:

Please check the status of your ballot to make sure it was counted!

Your State’s official website should have an option to check both your voter & ballot status.

[originalleftist]

Rumour is that in North Carolina, they've been calling couples to vote together so the man can see how the woman votes.

I do not know if this is true, but just for the record, in case anyone tries to intrude on your privacy in any way while voting:

This is illegal.

You have a right to a secret ballot.

When I sent in my mail ballot, I had to sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury that I had marked and sealed it in private.

So again- if anyone* tries to observe you marking your ballot, or have someone do so, they are breaking the law.

And you can report violations of election law to:

-State or territorial election offices.

-Local FBI offices.

-US attorney's offices.

-The Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section.

-Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, Voting Section.

See the link below for details:

*I think there are exceptions for people who require assistance, and there are people designated to assist them, but I don't know the details.

[randyite]