RNC Warns Against Poll Watching, Citing Decades-Old Court Decree

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo

By TIERNEY SNEED Published OCTOBER 20, 2016, 12:09 PM EDT

Fearful that a decades-old court order blocking the Republican Party from engaging in certain Election Day activities could be extended for many more years, the RNC is warning its members not to engage in poll watching or any other so-called "ballot security" measures.

The RNC's concerns are heightened because of the vigilante poll watching GOP nominee Donald Trump has been calling for from the stump.

A lawyer for the Republican National Committee sent a letter on the issue Wednesday to RNC members, the Wall Street Journal reported. The letter cites a 1982 consent decree the RNC agreed to after Democrats sued it for activities at polling places that they said were aimed at suppressing the minority vote.

The letter, sent to members from RNC general counsel John Ryder, said that he wanted “remind you of the restrictions placed on the RNC by the consent decree,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rnc-warns-against-poll-watching-citing-decades-old-court-agreement

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Too LATE

Last edited Thu Oct 20, 2016, 03:45 PM - Edit history (1)

The head of your ticket has been urging such poll watching for weeks

and all the deplorables with "pitchforks and blow torches" are gearing up
already

This is a hardened and battle-ready team of yours, RNC

Plus, your Republican state legislatures have been passing voting
restrictions for several years. It may not be poll-watching, but it sure
is voting restrictions, hiding in plain sight

[AmericanActivist]

2. Awesome! I was unaware of this past legal decree

Good to know. Thanks.

[Hekate]

3. Bookmarking! Listening to Ben Ginsberg carefully explaining this last night was a thing of beauty...

....once I got past my double-take. I had completely forgotten this, if I ever knew it.

The Troglodyte Brigade would be hoist so high on their own petard ....

[csziggy]

16. And I bet that was what alerted the RNC counsel to the dangers in this are

I was wishing Ginsberg had kept his mouth shut so the RNC would be hauled into court and the decree would have been extended even more decades!

[underpants]

4. So the RNC cited a case that proves they suppress voting

Hilarious

[Sherman A1]

11. Appears to be the case

and it would all be rather comical, if it wasn't so blasted sad....

[Roland99]

5. Trump is a living amalgam of every AM hate radio bloviator, of every Faux News talking head

Trump regurgitates every talking point from Breitbart to the Washington Examiner and every fringe site and blogger in between.

The distancing from their own dream candidate is quite interesting.

But what will they do for the next election cycle? Ignore the rabid base and move back toward a candidate who would actually work out compromises? No way in the world will that happen. They have a generation or two before they swing back to anyplace resembling sanity.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

6. Evil Know Thyself...

"The nature of the Rehnquist role in Arizona politics in the early 1960's has become a major issue in the nomination hearings. Although he is widely expected to be confirmed as Chief Justice, some Senate Democrats say the conflicting reports raise questions about his veracity and possible prejudice regarding black and Hispanic Americans."

... http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/04/us/rehnquist-in-arizona-a-militant-conservative-in-60-s-politics.html

[world wide wally]

7. That's quite the candidate you got there, GOP

[SunSeeker]

8. K & R & bookmarked!

[Chakaconcarne]

9. This is all really very odd to me...

Why are they making this statement now? Didn't hear a peep about it in 2012, 2008??

[forkol]

12. Probably because....

It was to expire this year.

In the past, they might have been able to distance themselves from it because former 'poll watchers' could not be tied directly to the RNC, just lone individuals.

However, if you have the presidential candidate, other top RNC and Republican members actively encouraging non-qualified people to 'poll watch', and especially if there's widespread reports of voter intimidation by such folks, the I think that would be sufficient reason for a judge to consider extending the consent degree. Hence, their concern.

[montana_hazeleyes]

14. So all they care about is that it could

possibly cause the decree to be extended. Not that it's wrong to do. Self serving Bastards.

[csziggy]

17. Because Trump is blatant about it and Ginsberg raised a flag last night

Sorry - the video is not on YouTube so I can't embed it:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/trump-starting-a-grievance-movement-789738563635

[NBachers]

10. The Republican party is a racketeering influenced corrupt organization, and should be prosecuted to

The fullest extent of the law. Every officer, every principal figure, anyone involved with the organization at all need to be put in jail.

[mountain grammy]

13. Agree

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Not the least of which is gerrymandering. Need permanent independent districting commissions. . . nt

[NBachers]

21. There've been big welcome changes here in California since the independent commission redrew

the district boundaries.

[TNNurse]

18. I hope no one is surprised

that the candidate with the slogan that literally insults the country...it says it is not great, also insults the integrity of our voting system. Maybe he should move away.

[Eleanors38]

20. I have personally seen GOPer poll watchers in action. Not good...

When I was an election judge 40+ years ago, the GOPers tried to challenge voters based on residency. They had a cheat list compiled from First Class mailings to college students' "home addresses." If the mail was returned, it was supposed to signal a student was not registered locally (false signal, btw). From this list they would divide potential challenges by precinct. When the student voter came in to vote, a challenge was raised. The watchers attempted to stop the voting process by several challenges at once. I followed the law, and ordered the watcher to fill out the challenge, away from the voting area and in a separate room, as required by law, then proceed to any further challenges. The watchers gave up in short order. (I say "ordered" because an election judge has many of the same powers as a Texas State District Judge on election day.)

The other more disturbing incident was in 2004 (I was not a judge, but was serviing voting machines). An antsy "watcher" set about questioning voters about their understanding of voting machine procedures, the ballot language of measures, etc., and holding up the line. These were all violations of law, and were carried out while the "watcher" wore a sidearm, also illegal at that time in Texas. I asked a rather timid election judge if the watcher was allowed to question voters, and he said "no." Shortly thereafter, the sheriff was called, and the GOPers in charge removed the watcher.

Election judges have the power to stop this jive-ass shit, and should move to do so immediately.

[pat_k]

22. kick

[Mc Mike]

26. Don, this move from the RNC lawyer is exactly the same as Stone's efforts

to use Mike Roman as a beard.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028242875

The RNC legal people are trying to inoculate themselves and their flunky aides from violation of the consent decree. They're telling their people with a wink and a nod, go do every illegal thing possible, as a "volunteer". You're "not with us", and we're "not with you". And we're both "not with" drumpfenfuhrer's campaign, while we all coordinate our efforts together to get the exact same thing done.

[Ford_Prefect]

27. After they burned their own campaign office anything is possible.

Yes. They did it to get attention off the Sexual Predator Tapes and turn the NC GOP into victims and it worked.

[AmericanActivist]

28. Kicking for visibility nm