DOJ Probes TX Voter Intimidation Complaints

Talking Points memo 10/19/10
DOJ Probes TX Voter Intimidation Complaints During Tea Party Anti-Voter Fraud Drive


Poll watchers in Harris County, Texas -- where a Tea Party group launched an aggressive anti-voter fraud effort -- were accused of "hovering over" voters, "getting into election workers' faces" and blocking or disrupting lines of voters who were waiting to cast their ballots as early voting got underway yesterday.

Now, TPMMuckraker has learned, the Justice Department has interviewed witnesses about the alleged intimidation and is gathering information about the so-called anti-voter fraud effort.

"We are currently gathering information regarding this matter," Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement confirming the Civil Rights Division's involvement.

Harris County, the biggest county in the state, is where a Tea Party group called the King Street Patriots launched an anti-voter fraud initiative called "True the Vote," which recruited poll watchers and amped up fears over groups like the community organizing group ACORN.

Chad Dunn, a lawyer who is representing the Texas Democratic Party, told TPMMuckraker a number of witnesses have been interviewed by Civil Rights Division lawyers already. "We've gotten a number of reports -- quite a few out of the Houston area -- that poll watchers, King Street Patriot training poll watchers, are following a voter after they've checked them out and stand right behind them," Dunn said. There's at least a dozen reports that they could confirm with witnesses, he said. "Interestingly, it's all in the polling places in Hispanic and African-American areas," he added.

ABC News Channel 13 10/19/10
Voter intimidation complaints get closer look

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Thousands of people have already cast their ballots during early voting, and some voters have filed complaints about what happened to them while they were at the polls. Some say they felt intimidated.

Armed with two forms of identification, Willie Jones fully expected to vote early, but when he got to the Acres Homes polling location Tuesday morning, he was told no.

"I just got a voter registration card and I brought all my ID and everything, so why was it canceled?" Jones asked. "I got two forms of ID and everything, so I still don't understand why I was denied."

Jones' case was witnessed by no fewer than three poll watchers, including one man who hovered over an election worker, taking notes.

Situations like this are exactly the reason why the Harris County Attorney's Office brought in the District Attorney's Office, as well as chairs of both the Democratic and Republican Party for a meeting.

Texans for Public Justice 10/18/10
TPJ Serves Houston Tea Party Groups with Election-Law Complaints

TPJ today filed a formal complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission alleging that the King Street Patriots and KSP/True the Vote have violated the state’s prohibition on corporate contributions to political parties and candidates. The complaint says the groups appear to have made repeated in-kind corporate contributions to the Harris County Republican Party and a slate of Republican candidates for legislative, judicial and county offices.

Texas Observer 10/19/10
Tea Party Group Accused of Illegal Corporate Donations, Voter Intimidation

(snip)
The TPJ case is a little convoluted, but worth the effort to understand. Simply put, nonprofit corporations in Texas, like King Street Patriots, don't have to list their funders, but also may not participate in partisan activity. To support a party or a candidate, they must create a political action committee, known as a PAC; PACs can be political actors but they also must list their donors. According to TPJ, King Street Patriots and their "True the Vote" effort to recruit poll watchers amounts to political action by a nonprofit corporation. If true, that would make the group's actions equivalent to political donations from a corporation. That also would make it illegal under Texas law.

"They could talk generally about voter fraud," says Craig McDonald, spokesperson for TPJ.
"When they start to recruit people and volunteers to do something about it through the political parties, then it becomes illegal."

(snip)
In both cases, the question comes down to whether or not the group is acting as a political entity. King Street Patriots has sponsored several candidate forums, which would be fine if they'd invited candidates from both parties. According to TPJ, however, the group only invited Republicans.

As the video shows, the group isn't exactly impartial. "There is a seven vote majority conservative" in the Texas Legislature, explains one man in the video. "What that means is in the big picture is if we lose Houston, we lose Texas...if we lose Texas, we lose the country."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7253109.html">Houston Chronicle 10/18/10
Some Harris County early voters upset by poll watchers
Complaints coming mainly from minority precincts

(snip)
Kevin Mauzy, chief deputy county clerk, said more poll watchers than usual showed up during the first day of early voting, and their numbers may have made some voters uneasy. "They're entitled to watch the process," he said.

True the Vote, a nonprofit organization founded by several Tea Party activists who go by the name King Street Patriots, had promised to verify voters' credentials at polling places, but it was unclear whether complaints involved members of the group.

"I'm pretty confident that's who it is," said Gerry Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party. "Just connect the dots. No. 1, too much of the same thing was going on at each of the polling locations. No. 2, it's consistent with what they announced they were going to do."

http://brainsandeggs.blogspot.com/2010/10/king-streets-patriots-vote-supressing.html">Brains and Eggs blog 10/18/10
King Street Patriots = vote-suppressing thugs

(snip)
TDP SAYS THAT KING STREET PATRIOTS INTIMIDATING VOTERS ON FIRST MORNING OF EARLY VOTING

Behavior includes shouting misinformation, standing behind voters as they cast ballots, says TDP's general counsel

In a conference call with members of the press, Texas Democratic Party general counsel Chad Dunn said the Party is receiving on the first day of early voting reports of King Street Patriots intimidating voters at the polls.

Dunn was talking to reporters to share more details on the TDP’s decision to expand a lawsuit against the Green Party to include allegations that the King Street Patriots are operating as an unregistered political committee to benefit GOP candidates.

Houston Chronicle 10/19/10
Harris County warns parties to watch the poll-watchers

Responding to complaints that poll watchers were intimidating voters in predominantly minority polling locations, County Attorney Vince Ryan summoned the county chairmen of both major parties to his office Tuesday and reminded them of their responsibility to make sure the observers were obeying the law.

Ryan also announced in the meeting that he has requested a monitor from the Justice Department to observe the voting process in Harris County through Nov. 2.

In a follow-up letter to the county chairmen, Ryan pointed out that poll watchers are entitled to be at a polling location, but cannot be present at the actual polling station when the voter is preparing his ballot and cannot converse with an election officer about the election, except to call attention to an irregularity or violation of the law.

Harris County Democratic Chairman Gerry Birnberg said his office had received reports Monday that poll watchers were "hovering" over voters, "getting in their face," and talking to election workers.

"This is the fourth general election I've been involved with," Birnberg said, "and we have never had this kind of problem in the past."

Your Rights from VoteTexas website
Report a possible voting rights abuse to the Secretary of State (1.800.252.8683) or to your local election official.

Talking Points Memo 10/20/10
Voter Registration Group Targeted By TX Tea Party Group Received Threats

A group trying to register voters in Houston received threats and emails containing racist slurs after being targeted by a local tea party group accusing it of "voter fraud."

In emails obtained by TPM, the group Houston Votes was accused of being "a bunch of white guilt ridden assholes, NIGGERS and greasy mexican spics," "fraudulent Marxist pigs," and "American hating A-holes."

"We received a couple of threats and several harassing e-mails," Maureen Haver of Houston Voters told TPMMuckraker. "There have been several efforts, I think, just trying to race-bait and stir racial tension and part of that I think is just based on what we've received in messaging from them."

"It's really had a chilling effect on our office," said Haver, adding that one of the e-mails was reported to the FBI.