Trump pledges to send 'sheriffs' and 'law enforcement' to polling places on Election Day

Eric

Eric

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It's clear there is no tactic this maniac won't use to intimidate and suppress voting. I can't see even Republicans supporting this move.

From CNN
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would send law enforcement officials to polling locations to guard against voter fraud in November's election, although it's not clear he has the authority to do so.

"We're going to have sheriffs, and we're going to have law enforcement, and we're going to have, hopefully, US attorneys, and we're going to have everybody and attorney generals (sic)," Trump said during an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity.

Trump's comments come as his campaign works to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers for what Republican officials have said could be their largest poll-watching operation. Even before Trump's comments, his party's plans to monitor the polls have sparked charges from Democrats and voting-rights groups that Republicans are gearing up to suppress voting in key states.
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The man is mad. What does he actually expect all these people to do, take photos of people entering the polling place and share them with the people at other polling locations? Does he truly not understand how difficult voter fraud is?
 
JayMysteri0 said:
He's just reaching into the old republican playbook. Republicans got called on this in the past, and now 45 is removing all doubt of where he stands.
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Voter intimidation 101, amped up for 2020. Time to ship another piece of the grocery money to the ACLU because they're going to have to have rafts of lawyers available to take stuff like this to court pro bono and get restraining orders.
 
Alli said:
The man is mad. What does he actually expect all these people to do, take photos of people entering the polling place and share them with the people at other polling locations? Does he truly not understand how difficult voter fraud is?
Click to expand...

This is out of the southern handbook on keeping black people from voting. Trump wishes it was still the segregation era. Sadly, we are seeing many Americans feel the same way. Trump has been a great salesman for racism. I worry we'll have a new generation that thinks being racist is ok.
 
Oh, there is nothing I don't put past Trump.

I mean, you guys think this is "just" about voter intimidation? Maybe.

I know he can't order the police around, but could he possibly have some feds--maybe even some of the same ones who descended on Portland--appear in key locations as "election observers"? And then have them claim they saw some kind of "irregularity" that required them to seize the ballots to "review" them?

I hope I'm wrong, but I can't shake the possibility of something like that happening. This man is capable of anything.

I do agree with lizkat...I think someone (states' Attorneys General?) needs to take out pre-emptive restraining orders against this.
 
Thomas Veil said:
I know he can't order the police around, but could he possibly have some feds--maybe even some of the same ones who descended on Portland--appear in key locations as "election observers"? And then have them claim they saw some kind of "irregularity" that required them to seize the ballots to "review" them?
Click to expand...

This is exactly the kind of thing I fear. But I’m just as concerned about the federal forces ringing parking lots around polling places so that normal folk are scared to break their line to get in to vote.
 
The thing to focus on, then hammer on, is WHERE these authorities are sent to.

You know it won't be to EVERY polling place, which will open the discussion & questions of where & why authorities are sent.
 
jkcerda said:
how is having the law there voter suppression?
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Please. It's sufficient to have a few pollworkers, from both major parties, inside the polling station to direct voters to the right tables and lines for their precincts.

Having the law outside there all suited up and carrying long guns and armbands with stuff on them like "national ballot security task force" is just plain intimidation when there's nothing's going on but registered voters standing in line to cast a vote ffs.

Mind you this is the first presidential election since a federal judge allowed a consent decree against the GOP's use of such "ballot security" measures to lapse.

www.theatlantic.com

The Republican Party Emerges From Decades of Court Supervision

After being bound by a consent decree for 35 years, the Republican National Committee is now free to continue its “ballot security” campaign.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com

https://www.Twitter or X not allowed/i/web/status/1249005277275275265/
 
posting from work.


the link you posted DOES sound like voter intimidation, as was what the BPP did.
 
jkcerda said:
was it voter intimidation when the black panther party showed up at the polls?
www.cnn.com

Was 2008 Black Panther incident voter intimidation? - CNN Video

Many worries about voter intimidation cite a 2008 viral video of Black Panthers outside a Philadelphia voting place. Michael Smerconish investigates.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
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Actually if you watch that entire CNN piece, it's hilarious that Rs keep using the cited incident as one purporting to represent intimidation of their voter base by scary black men.

The precinct in question is heavily Democratic and the ward it was a part of in 2008 had Dem v GOP registration of 5040 to 276. As a result, even Republican officials in that neck of the woods in Philadelphia have either laughed off or remained somewhat dismissive of the "incident", being puzzled that other Republicans even now consider that incident their go-to regarding alleged incidents of Republican voter intimidation by armed black radicals. Of course if that's all ya got, that's what ya go with, I guess.
 
jkcerda said:
posting from work.


the link you posted DOES sound like voter intimidation, as was what the BPP did.
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An important distinction to recognize whenever that singular even is repeatedly brought. That is private citizens who could be arrested IF they broke any laws.

In 45's case he wants to use the powers of the office he is running for as voter intimidation.

Which do you think is worse?
 
JayMysteri0 said:
An important distinction to recognize whenever that singular even is repeatedly brought. That is private citizens who could be arrested IF they broke any laws.

In 45's case he wants to use the powers of the office he is running for as voter intimidation.

Which do you think is worse?
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using the law would indeed be worse.
 
First, the is just Trump at his usual nattering nonsense. He has no power to "send" local law enforcement anywhere, especially sheriffs, who are elected members of county government, much less the local police that are guided by mayors and city councils. Moreover, a deputy has little power to do much, and even standing around might incite a serious legal challenge. If your local sheriff is tired of having funding, he can tangle with the ACLU on this, and likely lose.

As for the Black Panthers, it's important to note that this was just a few guys in one place. It's a lousy go-to example, but yes, armed men—whether that's a cudgel or a rifle—should be allowed to "protect" polling locations.

But, if we really want to talk about voting suppression, we can look at decades of history where local law was used to enforce poll taxes and so-called literacy tests. In the southwest, it was often the local law that was used to enforce these laws against Mexican-American and Chinese-Americans. In the northeast, and south, the law kept Black people from voting.
 

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