In an open letter sent by the Election Protection Coalition today, Project Vote was proud to join 75 other national and state-based civil rights organizations in calling on the leadership of America’s major political parties to stand up against voter intimidation efforts.
Recent calls to deploy observers and law enforcement at the polls—supposedly to counter the imaginary specter of “voter fraud”—are irresponsible, dangerous, and a potential violation of civil rights. As the open letter states:
“Racial minorities have faced a long and painful history of intimidation at the ballot box, through many of the same methods proposed in recent weeks. There is no place for harassment of voters in American democracy. Past intimidation at the polls has led to a court order restraining precisely this type of behavior.
“We urge you to act with deliberate speed to denounce this dangerous effort. You must make it clear that baseless challenges are not acceptable, and that the Voting Rights Act expressly prohibits intimidation of voters by anyone, whether acting under color of law or otherwise.”
As Election Protection’s press release about the letter states, “These actions are intended to depress voter turnout and participation, particularly among minority groups, and they run the risk of disrupting the conduct of elections, thereby causing chaos on Election Day.”
Project Vote is committed to responding to reports of voter suppression, and to working to enact policies that protect voters from intimidation and harassment. We are proud to be signatories of this letter, and we look forward to assisting in the Coalition’s voter protection efforts on Election Day.