Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:58 pm
As the hours count down to Tuesday’s midterm elections, election officials are working around the country to fight voter intimidation brought on by armed militia illegally staking out polling places. These extremists are basically Trump goons, and yet they got called out by a judge appointed by Donald Trump for voter intimidation tactics.
Trump appointee Arizona District Court judge Michael Liburdi ordered members of an election militia to stay at least 75 feet away from drop boxes, not speak or follow voters, not take photos or video of voters, not post anything about the voter online, and they were also told they can’t openly carry weapons.
CNBC reported in an article alarmingly titled “Election officials combat voter intimidation across U.S. as extremist groups post armed militia at some polls”:
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A U.S. District Court judge appointed by Trump ordered members of Clean Elections USA to stay at least 75 feet away from drop boxes and not to follow or speak to voters in Arizona.
They were also told they couldn’t openly carry weapons.
The ruling was in response to a temporary restraining order filed by two voter advocacy groups, alleging the poll watchers were trying to “bully and intimidate lawful Arizona voters.â€
The group “Clean Election USA” echoes Trump’s lies about the 2020 election that he lost to President Joe Biden, in the most secure election in our history.
This was in response to the armed and masked men “in tactical gear” “guarding” drop boxes in “select countries” watching for signs of fraud in Arizona. These are not trained or qualified poll watchers.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office said on Friday “18 reports of voter intimidation at ballot drop boxes have been submitted to law enforcement” for such activities as filming voters dropping off their ballot.
The Department of Justice filed a brief on the issue saying in general “the Constitution does not protect voter intimidation and that harassing or trying to harass people casting ballots could violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
The role of a poll watcher is “to observe and monitor the election, without violating voter privacy or disrupting the election.” It should be noted that “Poll watchers are different from challengers, though in some jurisdictions, poll watchers may challenge the eligibility of voters or the validity of ballots.” You can check here for your own state to find the rules.
What these Trump fascists are doing is against the law. Intimidating voters or election officials is a violation of the law.
There is no more sacred right and freedom than the right to vote. Anyone trying to intimidate voters is someone who does not actually support the liberty upon which this country is founded. They do not deserve to use “USA” in their name, for their actions are the despicable actions of tyrants trying to impose their will over the will of majority of The People.
If you are concerned about what to do if you see unauthorized private militia groups or armed people near a polling place, ICAP has created fact sheets for all 50 states explaining the laws that bar these activities.
The most important thing you can do for yourself and this country is to vote. They don’t want you to do it, so you know it’s important.
These people need to be put back in their place, and not allowed to try to steal freedom from other Americans. That won’t happen if Republicans win control of Congress.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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