GOP poll watchers allegedly targeting black precincts in Pittsburgh
Source: Philadelphia CityPaper Philadelphia weekly
Civil rights and other progressive groups have sent a letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez alleging that the Pennsylvania Republican Party and Pittsburgh Tea Party are targeting Pittsburgh precincts with large numbers of black voters "under the guise of combating alleged voter fraud."
“We have seen their list and it strongly suggests that the Pennsylvania Republican Party is coordinating with the Pittsburgh Tea Party to target African American voters for intimidation at the polls,” according to a statement from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Associate General Counsel Nicole Berner. “The Pennsylvania Republican Party has serious questions to answer about where they are putting their poll watchers and why.”
According to the letter, the rights organizations obtained a partial list of targeted precincts distributed at a Pittsburgh Tea Party poll watcher training coordinated with the Republican Party. The precincts have a black voter registration of over 79 percent.
Full text of the letter is below:
November 5, 2012
The Honorable Thomas E. Perez
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Assistant Attorney General Perez:
The undersigned civil rights and community organizations write to raise concerns about the
likely targeting of African-American voters by the Republican Party and groups and individuals
acting in concert with it in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Allegheny County is one of 51
jurisdictions that will be monitored by the Civil Rights Division of Department of Justice on
Election Day 2012 as part of the Department’s efforts to enforce the Voting Rights Act, to
prevent discrimination, and to the protect the rights of voters of color.
We have received information that strongly suggests the Republican Party, under the guise of
combating alleged voter fraud, has assigned Election Day poll watchers disproportionately to
majority African-American precincts in Allegheny County. We are in receipt of a partial list of
targeted precincts that was distributed at a poll watcher training conducted by the Pittsburgh
Tea Party Movement. The Pittsburgh Tea Party Movement conducted this training, on behalf of the
Republican Party, as part of its program to combat alleged voter fraud in Allegheny County.
We understand the Republican Party has targeted approximately 111, out of a total 1,319
precincts, in that county. The partial list, which is attached hereto as Exhibit A, includes 59 of
the total 111 precincts targeted by the Republican Party. We are unaware of any history of
voter fraud at any of these 59 locations. We are concerned that these locations are being
targeted for impermissible, racially-motivated reasons.
A comparison of the 59 Republican Party targeted precincts to the other precincts in Allegheny
County reveals that the targeted precincts disproportionately contain African-American voters.
Specifically, the targeted precincts are over 79% African-American. By contrast, the nontargeted
precincts contain, on average, less than 11% African-American registered voters.
Moreover, although the targeted precincts include only 3% of the total number of voters in
Allegheny County, they contain 18.5% of the registered African American voters. The vast
majority of these precincts are among those with the mostly highly concentrated African-
American populations in the County. A statistical analysis of the 59 Republican Party targeted
precincts is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
On the basis of the above, the undersigned organizations are extremely concerned that the
racial composition of the targeted precincts districts suggests that race may have been a factor
in the decision of the Republican Party to target these 59 precincts in its voter fraud prevention
program with the purpose or potential significant effect of deterring qualified African-American
voters in Allegheny County from casting their ballots and thereby suppressing the minority vote.
We call upon the Justice Department monitors to make every effort to ensure that voters at
these targeted locations are able to cast their ballots freely and fairly on Election Day and to
inquire of the Republican Party and the Pittsburgh Tea Party Movement as to the source of its
list and the basis of the targeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Advancement Project
1220 L Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20005
Common Cause
1133 19th St NW
Washington DC 20036
Read more: http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/nakedcity/GOP-poll-watchers-allegedly-targeting-black-precincts-in-Pittsburgh-.html
There at it again bringing out old favorites from the past. Sad Sad party don't know when they've been conquered!
= new reply since forum marked as read
This is what the low-down GOP scumbag running for Governor in the state of Washington is paying them to do!
Would those votes ever see the ballot box? Hell, no!
probably blame it on the Black Panthers for voter intimidation in a Black precinct. That is how delusional they are. And they want to be in charge of this country.
White people vote Democratic in Pittsburgh as well. We are a liberal city. We were something like 80% blue in 2008 across all demographics. So good luck with that, cheaters! 
Also, I am a Caucasian voter in one of those primarily African-American districts, and I won't tolerate for one second someone messing with my polling place while I am in there tomorrow. I would be on the phone to someone and raising hell so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. I know I'm not the only one. And yeah, I can't imagine that some of my African-American neighbors would tolerate some dipshit Repuke white dude harassing them outside a polling place. Far from being intimidated, I imagine that would go pretty poorly for the "poll watcher" pretty fast. Good luck to Mr. Poll Watcher in that case. I would point and laugh!
Republicans consider minorities. 
R's, epitomizing ignorance in a new way everyday 
