Get ready for another contested election

Nonsense, said DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera, who accused the GOP of taking words out of context.

Cabrera said the same document goes on to explain that "pre-emptive strike" means issuing a press release reviewing Republican tactics used in the past, placing stories in the press expressing concern about the threat of intimidation tactics and preparing for possible legal action on Election Day.

"We make no apologies whatsoever for arming our field staff with ways to recognize and combat voter intimidation," Cabrera said. "Any fair reading of this memo would lead one to conclude without any doubt that what we're talking about is informing both members of the press and the electorate of past voter suppression tactics."

Deborah Goldberg, acting director of the Democracy Program at New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice, said the language used in the manual does not appear to violate the law.

"To me, it sounds like informing people of problems they've seen in the past and telling people how to identify it in the future," Goldberg said. "If somebody actually came out and said 'file a false claim' that would be a problem."