113 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 42 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 8/10/20

Armed poll watchers: New Jersey's cautionary tale ahead of the 2020 presidential election

By       (Page 1 of 4 pages)   1 comment

Mark Krasovic

Reprinted from theconversation.com

Armed poll watchers: New Jersey's cautionary tale ahead of the 2020 presidential election

Democrats filed suit against Republicans in 1981 for allegedly sending armed patrols to polling stations during the New Jersey gubernatorial race.

In the history of voter suppression in the United States - including attempts to stop Black and Latino people from voting - Republican tactics in the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial race are worth highlighting.

That November, voters in several cities saw posters at polling places printed in bright red letters. "WARNING," they read. "This area is being patrolled by the National Ballot Security Task Force."

And voters soon encountered the patrols themselves. About 200 were deployed statewide, many of them uniformed and carrying guns.

In Trenton, patrol members asked a Black voter for her registration card and turned her away when she didn't produce it. Latino voters were similarly prevented from voting in Vineland, while in Newark some voters were physically chased from the polls by patrolmen, one of whom warned a poll worker not to stay at her post after dark. Similar scenes played out in at least two other cities, Camden and Atlantic City.

IMG_1936
IMG_1936
(Image by aloharakesh from flickr)
  Details   DMCA

Weeks later, after a recount, Republican Thomas Kean won the election by fewer than 1,800 votes.

Democrats, however, soon won a significant victory. With local civil rights activists, they discovered that the "ballot security" operation was a joint project of the state and national Republican committees. They filed suit in December 1981, charging Republicans with "efforts to intimidate, threaten and coerce duly qualified black and Hispanic voters."

In November 1982, the case was settled when the Republican committees signed a federal consent decree - a court order applicable to activities anywhere in the U.S. - agreeing not to use race in selecting targets for ballot security activities and to refrain from deploying armed poll watchers.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Mark Krasovic Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Mark Krasovic  is  Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Rutgers University Newark
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Armed poll watchers: New Jersey's cautionary tale ahead of the 2020 presidential election

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend