Ballot Security Task Force

Last updated

The National Ballot Security Task Force (BSTF) was founded in 1981 in New Jersey, United States by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to discourage voter turnout among likely Democratic voters in the gubernatorial election.

Contents

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. [1]

The RNC tried to lift the consent decree several times over the next 25 years; these attempts were rejected by the federal courts. In 2009, the US District Court of New Jersey agreed to several modifications of the consent decree, including the addition of an expiration date. [2] That date was set for December 1, 2017. Democrats sought an extension of the consent decree based on allegations of new conduct, but the request was denied in January 2018 and the decree expired. [3]

Overview

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. [4]

Initially, 45,000 letters were mailed (using an outdated voter registration list) to primarily Latino and African-American citizens. [5] Many of these letters were later returned as non-deliverable, and the 45,000 addresses were used to create a list of voters. [6] These voters were then challenged by the BSTF, a practice known as voter caging. [7]

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these voters from the rolls, but the commissioners of registration refused when they discovered that the RNC had used outdated information. [8]

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 [9] [10]

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." [8] BSTF patrols "challenged and questioned voters at the polls and blocked the way of some prospective voters" in predominantly African-American and Hispanic areas. [8] Democrat James J. Florio lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Thomas H. Kean by 1,797 votes. [8]

A civil lawsuit was filed after the election by the DNC, which alleged that the RNC had violated the Voting Rights Act [11] and engaged in illegal harassment and voter intimidation. [12] The suit was settled in 1982, when the Republican National Committee and New Jersey Republican State Committee, instead of a trial, signed a consent decree in U.S. District Court saying that they would not allow tactics that could intimidate Democratic voters, though they did not admit any wrongdoing. [11] [13] [14] The case and ensuing decree were supervised by District Court Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise for the ensuing 34 years. [15]

The consent decree, entered on November 1, 1982, [14] prevented the Republican Party "from engaging in activities that suppress the vote, particularly when it comes to minority voters." [16] It also barred the wearing of armbands at polling places. [16] Under the consent decree "the Republican party organizations agreed to allow a federal court to review proposed 'ballot security' programs, including any proposed voter caging." [14] The consent decree expired in December 2017. [17] A successor consent decree, applying to several states, was entered on July 27, 1987. [14]

Prior to the expiration of the decree in 2018, the Republican Party attempted several times, without success, to have it terminated. They argued that it was "antiquated" and unnecessary. [11] The Democratic National Committee countered by arguing that "recent campaigns show the 'consent degree remains necessary today.'" [11] In 2009, a New Jersey federal judge rejected the RNC's request to vacate the consent decree. This ruling was unanimously affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2012. [14] [18] The Supreme Court declined to hear the RNC's appeal in 2013. [11]

2016 motion

On October 26, 2016, the DNC filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to find that the RNC had violated the consent decree. [14] The motion was filed after the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggested, without evidence, that the election was "rigged" in favor of his opponent Hillary Clinton and urged Trump supporters to watch the polls to combat supposed "voter fraud." [19] [17] The DNC also sought to extend the duration of the consent decree. [19] A shortened discovery occurred, and on November 5 the court denied the request. The court determined that the DNC did not present "sufficient evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and the RNC on ballot-security operations" but did "allow the DNC to offer further evidence after the election." [14]

The consent decree restricting Republican Party conduct was set to expire on December 1, 2017, but Democrats sought an extension, [20] [21] alleging that statements from Donald Trump campaign officials showed the RNC had engaged in activities in violation of the decree. [21] U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez allowed the Democratic Party to take the deposition of Sean Spicer before issuing a decision on whether the decree should be allowed to expire, but denied Democrats' motions for hearings on the issue. [21] On January 8, Judge John Vasquez ruled that the decree had expired on December 1, and would not be extended. [3]

The 2020 presidential election was the first presidential election since 1980 in which the Republican Party was able to deploy "ballot security operations". In 2019 Justin R. Clark, an official in Trump's re-election campaign, was recorded telling Republican lawyers that the expiration of the consent decree was a "huge, huge, huge, huge deal" for the campaign's election day operations in Wisconsin. [22] In March 2020 the RNC announced plans to mobilize 50,000 poll watchers to swing states, while Trump described plans to mobilise law enforcement as poll watchers, and the True the Vote group sought to recruit police officers and military veterans. The political scientist Kenneth Mayer of the University of Wisconsin–Madison argued in August 2020 that the lifting of the consent decree raised the prospect of a return to practices of voter intimidation, while Justin Levitt of Loyola Law School argued that the RNC was unlikely to have the capacity to mobilize such numbers. [23] [24] In October 2020 the Trump campaign said it had enlisted more than 50,000 volunteer poll watchers in swing states. [25] In a September 2020 opinion column, Florio likened Trump's rhetoric to the use of voter intimidation in the 1981 campaign. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

Voter caging is a colloquial term used in the United States referring to a campaign activity used to remove, or attempt to remove, targeted voters from official lists of registered voters. It occurs when a non-governmental organization, such as a political party or a campaign, sends first-class mail to registered voters, in order to compile a so-called "challenge list" of the names of those whose letters are returned undelivered. The fact that the mail was returned as undeliverable may be seen as either proof, or strong evidence of, the person no longer residing at the address on their voter registration. The challenge list is presented to election officials with the suggestion that the officials should purge these names from the voter registration rolls or to challenge voters' eligibility to vote on the grounds that the voters no longer reside at their registered addresses.

Operation Eagle Eye was a Republican Party voter suppression operation in the 1960s in Arizona to challenge minority voters. In the United States only citizens have ever been able to vote, and in 1964 only literate citizens could vote, so it was legal to ensure that (1) a potential voter was literate, and (2) a potential voter was a United States Citizen. Through the employment of literacy tests, oral demands to interpret the United States Constitution and detailed questions about a potential voter's origins and how long the potential voter had been in the United States, Republican workers would challenge minority voters, especially those with broken English. William Rehnquist, later chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, is said to have been the head of a group of lawyers hoping to challenge voters in minority Democratic precincts. Operation Eagle Eye was a two-year effort, and the laws in Arizona have since made this kind of challenge illegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in New Jersey</span>

Elections in New Jersey are authorized under Article II of the New Jersey State Constitution, which establishes elections for the governor, the lieutenant governor, and members of the New Jersey Legislature. Elections are regulated under state law, Title 19. The office of the New Jersey Secretary of State has a Division of Elections that oversees the execution of elections under state law. In addition, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is responsible for administering campaign financing and lobbying disclosure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Michigan Democratic presidential primary</span>

The 2008 Michigan Democratic presidential primary took place January 15, 2008. Originally, the state had 156 delegates up for grabs that were to be awarded in the following way: 83 delegates were to be awarded based on the winner in each of Michigan's 15 congressional districts while an additional 45 delegates were to be awarded to the statewide winner. Twenty-eight unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, were initially able to cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election</span>

The 1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1997. In the Democratic primary, state senator and Woodbridge Township mayor James McGreevey defeated pre-U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews by 9,993 votes. In the general election, Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman defeated McGreevey by 26,953 votes. Whitman won 46.87% of the vote, with Democratic nominee James McGreevey receiving 45.82% and Libertarian Murray Sabrin receiving 4.7%.

Voter suppression in the United States consists of various legal and illegal efforts to prevent eligible citizens from exercising their right to vote. Such voter suppression efforts vary by state, local government, precinct, and election. Voter suppression has historically been used for racial, economic, gender, age and disability discrimination. After the American Civil War, all African-American men were granted voting rights, but poll taxes or language tests were used to limit and suppress the ability to register or cast a ballot. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 improved voting access. Since the beginning of voter suppression efforts, proponents of these laws have cited concerns over electoral integrity as a justification for various restrictions and requirements, while opponents argue that these constitute bad faith given the lack of voter fraud evidence in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election</span>

The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican former Somerset County freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee Christine Todd Whitman. Primary elections were held on June 8, 1993. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot due to invalid petition signatures. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated W. Cary Edwards and James Wallwork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election</span>

The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3, 1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio, 49.46%-49.38, following a recount. Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2024, the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States presidential election in Florida</span>

The 2016 United States presidential election in Florida was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Florida voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and his running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence, against the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Florida had 29 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 New York Democratic presidential primary</span>

The 2016 New York Democratic presidential primary was held on April 19 in the U.S. state of New York as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Hillary Clinton, who had previously represented New York in the United States Senate from 2001 to 2009, won a comfortable majority in both the popular vote and delegate count over Bernie Sanders, who was born in Brooklyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Georgia</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Georgia voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris of California. Georgia has 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Texas</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in Texas was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Texas voters chose 38 electors to represent them in the Electoral College. In a popular vote the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence won all the electors against the Democratic Party's nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in New Jersey</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in New Jersey was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. New Jersey voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. New Jersey has 14 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

This is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election. This will be the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.

Before Election Day of the 2020 United States presidential election, lawsuits related to the voting process were filed in various states. Many of these lawsuits were related to measures taken by state legislatures and election officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following is a timeline of major events leading up and during the 2020 United States presidential election, the 59th quadrennial United States presidential election, from January to October 2020. For previous events, see Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election (2017–2019). For subsequent events, see Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election

Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 594 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case related to voting rights established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), and specifically the applicability of Section 2's general provision barring discrimination against minorities in state and local election laws in the wake of the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder, which removed the preclearance requirements for election laws for certain states that had been set by Sections 4(b) and 5. Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee involves two of Arizona's election policies: one outlawing ballot collection and another banning out-of-precinct voting. The Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision in July 2021 that neither of Arizona's election policies violated the VRA or had a racially discriminatory purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in New Hampshire</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in New Hampshire is currently taking place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. New Hampshire voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of New Hampshire has four electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election denial movement in the United States</span> Conspiracy theory

The election denial movement in the United States is a widespread false belief among many Republicans that elections in the United States are rigged and stolen through election fraud by Democrats. Adherents of the movement are referred to as election deniers. Election fraud conspiracy theories have spread online and through conservative conferences, community events, and door-to-door canvassing. Since the 2020 United States presidential election, many Republican politicians have sought elective office or taken legislative steps to address what they assert is weak election integrity leading to widespread fraudulent elections, though no evidence of systemic election fraud has come to light and many studies have found that it is extremely rare.

The United States Republican Party has undertaken a broad range of efforts to disrupt the 2024 United States presidential election so that its candidate, Donald Trump, has a greater chance of winning. The efforts come amidst a larger election denial movement among Republicans in the United States since the 2020 election.

References

  1. ↑ "REPUBLICANS AGREE IN LAWSUIT TO AVOID INTIMIDATING VOTERS". New York Times. November 7, 1982. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY (December 1, 2009). "DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, ET AL. v. REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, ET AL" (PDF). GovInfo.gov. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 GERSTEIN, JOSH. "Judge ends consent decree limiting RNC 'ballot security' activities". POLITICO. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ Sullivan, Joseph F. (November 13, 1993). "Florio's Defeat Revives Memories of G.O.P. Activities in 1981". New York Times.
  5. ↑ Toobin, Jeffrey (September 20, 2004). "Poll Position". The New Yorker .
  6. ↑ Smith, Glenn W. (2004). The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction. John Wiley and Sons. p. 124. ISBN   0-471-66763-3 . Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  7. ↑ Levitt, Justin (June 29, 2007). "Reported Instances of Voter Caging". Brennan Center for Justice . New York University School of Law.
  8. 1 2 3 4 United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (October 5, 2004). S. Hrg. 108–694: Maximizing Voter Choice (PDF). Government Printing Office, Serial No. J–108–98. p. 65.
  9. ↑ Felzenberg, Alvin S. (2006). Governor Tom Kean . Rutgers University Press. p.  184. ISBN   0-8135-3799-1 . Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  10. ↑ Larsen, Erik (October 27, 2016). "NJ's 1981 vote: Armed men at the polls". Asbury Park Press . Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 David G. Savage, Supreme Court denies RNC bid to end voter fraud consent decree, Los Angeles Times (January 14, 2013).
  12. ↑ Piven, Frances Fox; Cloward, Richard A. (2000). Why Americans Still Don't Vote . Beacon Press. p.  245. ISBN   0-8070-0449-9 . Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  13. ↑ Raymond, Allen (2008). How to Rig an Election . Simon & Schuster. p.  17. ISBN   978-1-4165-5222-2 . Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "DNC v. RNC Consent Decree". Brennan Center for Justice . New York University School of Law. November 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ "DNC v. RNC Consent Decree | Brennan Center for Justice". www.brennancenter.org. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Katz, Matt (September 1, 2016). "Armed Men Once Patrolled the Polls. Will They Reappear in November?". WNYC News.
  17. 1 2 "Rachel Maddow Versus the Poll Watchers". The Advocate. October 25, 2016.
  18. ↑ Democratic National Committee v. Republican National Committee , 673 F.3d 192 (3d Cir. 2012).
  19. 1 2 Matt Friedman (October 27, 2016). "Democrats: RNC violating anti-voter intimidation agreement". Politico.
  20. ↑ Salant, Jonathan D. (December 29, 2017). "Here's what Sean Spicer said in N.J. voter intimidation case". NJ.com . NJ Advance Media.
  21. 1 2 3 Friedman, Matt (December 29, 2017). "After questioning Spicer, Democrats want to depose Priebus about election night activities". Politico.
  22. ↑ Gellman, Barton (November 2020). "The Election That Could Break America". The Atlantic . Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  23. ↑ Pilkington, Ed (August 24, 2020). "In 1981 a 'task force' intimidated voters at the polls. Will Republicans revert to their old tactics?". The Guardian . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  24. ↑ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Dawsey, Josh; Zapotosky, Matt (August 22, 2020). "Trump's suggestion of deploying law enforcement officials to monitor polls raises specter of voting intimidation". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  25. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex; Korecki, Natasha (October 8, 2020). "Trump campaign ready to unleash thousands of poll watchers on Election Day". Politico . Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  26. ↑ Florio, James J. (September 13, 2020). "Armed men at N.J.'s Black, Latino polling places? Ex-gov. warns it has happened before". NJ.com . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.