Speaking of Bad Intentions…
I just concluded my most recent blog by saying that the right wing had very bad intentions regarding our right to vote. Shortly after I got that blog posted I came across a news item from the Washington Post that not only confirms what I just said, but also carries it even further. The Washington Post has obtained a leaked email by the Republican Party of Wisconsin spelling out some of their potential plans for possible voter intimidation on Election Day.
According to the story by the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, Mary Pat Flaherty, the RPW email sought ‘names of Milwaukee area veterans, policemen, security personnel, firefighters’¦’ to volunteer at inner city polling places, presumably to challenge voters, disqualify voters and create long lines which will cause working people to leave the polls without voting. The email suggested such specific kinds of people apparently because they find inner city polling locations ‘more intimidating.’
This leaked email appears to be a roadmap for the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s possible election day voter intimidation strategy. Never mind that voter intimidation is a felony and can be punishable with a fine of $10,000 and up to three-and-a-half years in prison. The law is very clear that an individual who commits voter intimidation is the one on the hook for fines and prison time. If the Republican Party of Wisconsin is thinking about sending people to intimidate voters, those individuals should know that they are the ones that could be fined and sent to prison.
One Wisconsin Now’s research and education affiliated organization, the One Wisconsin Institute, is distributing guidelines outlining the illegality of voter intimidation, what constitutes voter intimidation and the punishments for violating the law. You can access those legal guidelines HERE. This guideline has been sent to the Government Accountability Board with a request that it be distributed statewide and posted in polling locations across Wisconsin.
For more information about your right to vote, please visit ProtectWisconsinsVote.org