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deminks

(11,006 posts)
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 04:47 PM Jun 2014

Poll watchers warned in Mississippi

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/210340-mississippi-officials-question-legitimacy-of-conservative-poll

State officials in Mississippi are warning groups backing state Sen. Chris McDaniel that their efforts to organize poll watchers for Tuesday's runoff might be illegal.

(snip)

The Senate Conservatives Fund, FreedomWorks and the Tea Party Patriots are deploying poll watchers Tuesday trained to “observe whether the law is being followed," an adviser to the effort told The New York Times.

But Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (D) and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann (R) are charging the effort by the trio of conservative groups might be illegal.

In a release, they point to a section in state law allowing for just one poll watcher appointed by each candidate on the ballot, and argue that “there is no authority in state law for a PAC or other outside group to place ‘election observers’ in Mississippi polling places.”

(end snip)

So, what were those McDaniel people doing in the courthouse at 3:00 AM the night of the primary? That question has never been answered. 3AM.

Poll watchers are for one reason and one reason only. Intimidation.
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Poll watchers warned in Mississippi (Original Post) deminks Jun 2014 OP
Worse, watch for open carry advocates MineralMan Jun 2014 #1
Not necessarily . . . YarnAddict Jun 2014 #2
"Poll watchers are for one reason and one reason only. Intimidation." former9thward Jun 2014 #3

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
1. Worse, watch for open carry advocates
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 04:54 PM
Jun 2014

standing just outside of the protected zone at the polls. I'm betting there will be some at some polling places. The goal? Intimidation, of course.

 

YarnAddict

(1,850 posts)
2. Not necessarily . . .
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:12 PM
Jun 2014
Poll watchers are for one reason and one reason only. Intimidation.


I have served as a poll watcher. What happened was that there was a local issue regarding environmental stuff. the "other side" wanted poll watchers, so the poll workers got their noses out of joint because they felt they weren't being trusted, and asked a group of politically active people to be there to watch the watchers.

Believe me, it was pretty crowded in that room!

former9thward

(31,806 posts)
3. "Poll watchers are for one reason and one reason only. Intimidation."
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:23 PM
Jun 2014

Wow.... That was what Daley used to say in Chicago when independent progressives would try and place poll watchers in polling places to keep vote theft by the machine down to a minimum. And now it is repeated on DU ....

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