Democrats across nation sue over voter intimidation
NEWARK, N.J. — For months, Donald Trump has whipped up supporters by directing them to go to cities with sizable minority populations to make sure the presidential election is fair.
“So important that you watch other communities, because we don’t want this election stolen,” Trump said last month, encouraging people to watch voting in “certain areas.”
Those statements put the Republican National Committee in an uncomfortable spot. The party has been bound by a federal court consent decree for three decades that bars efforts to police the polls on Election Day, on the grounds that they might intimidate minority voters. In courtrooms across the country, Democratic lawyers are pushing for orders to prevent what they fear will be widespread GOP efforts to confront or harass voters on election day.
On Friday, with Democrats seeking an injunction that finds the RNC violated the consent decree, a lawyer for the RNC told a federal judge here that the party can’t be held accountable for what Trump says.
“Is the (Democratic National Committee) really contending that the RNC has control of Donald Trump?” said Bobby Burchfield, a Washington lawyer for the Republican Party. “That would be a news flash.”
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Vazquez did not immediately rule but did indicate statements from Trump supporters troubled him.
“’I’m not going to violate the law, but I’m going to make them nervous,’” said Vazquez, citing a typical statement. “That’s like saying, ‘I’m not going to murder him, but I’m going to shoot that guy.’ ”
Democrats won rulings in other cases Friday. In Ohio, a federal judge barred Trump’s campaign and Roger Stone, a longtime Trump supporter and lobbyist, from interrogating voters or taking photos around voting locations.
In Arizona, a federal appeals court suspended enforcement of a state law that prohibited political parties from picking up absentee ballots; Democrats claimed that unfairly raised hurdles for minorities.