That is because they were attempting to - intimidate voters! Posted: Nov 11th, 2018 - 7:31 am In Reply to: Did you know that since 1982, the Republican Party had - been legally prohibited from
And strike them off the rolls - guess which voters?
Same old same old. They are still trying to do that now. IMHO we REALLY need the voting rights act reinstated. Roberts should be ashamed.
And the Consent Decree did not really get overturned, it just expired, although D's did try to get it extended in light of the latest shenanigans by the R's - which was denied.
Linked is the Wikipedia article which your link painted in such a bright light for Republicans, playing the victim (again). It is not a favorable story for the Republicans, let me tell you. In fact, from what I can determine, they took this deal instead of a trial, where they certainly would have been found guilty of violating the Voting Rights Act.
From Wikipedia, here is a description of the Ballot Security Task Force. I don't think Wikipedia live in the basement with cats, but I cannot be sure. Usually a pretty good source I feel.
The point I make is cause and effect. They didn't just arbitrarily stop Republicans from contesting elections, they did it because the RNC had actually and undeniably tried to intimidate and threaten voters. Also because the RNC agreed to that punishment so they wouldn't be charged.
"The National Ballot Security Task Force (BSTF) was a controversial group founded in 1981 in New Jersey by the Republican National Committee (RNC) as a means of intimidating voters and discouraging voter turnout among likely Democratic voters in the gubernatorial election. The group's activities prompted the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to bring a federal lawsuit, alleging a violation of the Voting Rights Act, illegal harassment, and voter intimidation. The RNC and New Jersey Republican State Committee entered into a consent decree in 1982, barring them from engaging in further such conduct until 2017. The RNC unsuccessfully tried to lift the consent decree early; these attempts were rejected by the federal courts each time. The consent decree was set to expire on December 1, 2017. Democrats sought an extension to it based on allegations of new conduct, but the request was denied in January 2018 and the decree expired.[1]...
The task force consisted of a group of armed, off-duty police officers wearing armbands, who were hired to patrol polling sites in African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods of Newark and Trenton.[2]
Initially, 45,000 letters were mailed (using an outdated voter registration list) to primarily Latino and African-American citizens.[3] Many of these letters were later returned as non-deliverable, and the 45,000 addresses were used to create a list of voters.[4] These voters were then challenged by the BSTF, a practice known as voter caging.[5]
In addition, the Republican National Committee filed a request for election supervisors to strike these voters from the rolls, but the commissioners of registration refused when they discovered that the RNC had used outdated information.[6]
On New Jersey's election day in 1981, the BSTF posted large signs, without identification but with an official appearance, reading
WARNING
THIS AREA IS BEING PATROLLED BY THE
NATIONAL BALLOT
SECURITY TASK FORCE
IT IS A CRIME TO FALSIFY A BALLOT OR
TO VIOLATE ELECTION LAWS[7][8]
Armed members of the Task Force "were drawn from the ranks of off-duty county deputy sheriffs and local police," who "prominently displayed revolvers, two-way radios, and BSTF armbands."[6] BSTF patrols "challenged and questioned voters at the polls and blocked the way of some prospective voters" in predominantly African-American and Hispanic areas.[6] Democrat James J. Florio lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Thomas H. Kean by 1,797 votes.[6]"
So does that sound so innocent to you? Again, I think D's got the bad end of that deal, they should have let it go to trial, we may have ended up with a stronger law then so they couldn't try to do the same thing now so many years later.
Why, on this very page, talk about how great it would be for people to dress up as ICE agents and intimidate voters. This is good?
I think the Supreme Court Justices who decided we didn't need the VRA because there is no racism now were entirely wrong. If anything, it is worse now than ever, and has become the tool of the ruling class (or the "swamp" if you will) to get rid of voters they don't want to vote. That is simply NOT what this country is about.
LINK/URL: That is because they were attempting to
Post A Reply Reply By Email Options
Complete Discussion Below: (  marks the location of current message within thread)
|
