Andrew Sullivan Received An Interesting E-Mail From A North Carolina Voter

[THUNDER HANDS]

I live in Charlotte NC, where today is the first day of early voting. I drove by two polling places before 8 this morning and they were both completely mobbed. My husband has driven to two others in his attempt to vote today, and the scene has been so ridiculous that he has given up and will try again next week. At two of the spots where he tried to vote, he witnessed and was approached by two exceedingly aggressive McCain/Palin volunteers who were pulling people out of line, handing out brochures, and telling them "You really need to think carefully about your vote. If you plan to vote Obama, we would ask that you read this material and reconsider your vote."

At one location, after approaching my husband aggressively, these volunteers were forcefully asked to leave by an employee and were told the police would be called if they did not cease and desist.

None of this is indicative of anything, obviously. I just thought it was interesting. I have voted in three presidential races since I have lived in Charlotte, and I have never been approached by anyone campaiging so close to a polling location. Desperation, perhaps?

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/

[TrogL]

1. Isn't that illegal?

Where I'm from (Canada) no campaigning is allowed anywhere's near a polling station.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. No. It is not legal. There is defined perimieter around polling places within which no

campaigning or political signs are allowed.

[Emit]

16. I think it's within 25 feet in our state, NV, iirc

[appal_jack]

18. 50' perimeter in NC

Campaigners have to stay at least 50 feet from the polling place.

-app

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Geez, what pathetic chumps. Don't they know you can't do that around polling places? (Well, I 'm

guessing that they do but they are so freaked that they don't care.)

[progressivebydesign]

3. Two words for ALL NC early voters.. BRING CAMERAS!!!!

THIS must be why, in that leaked email, the GOP is asking for "retired or inactive police, security, military, and fire, volunteers" to work "more intimidating" polling locations in inner cities. WHY does the campaign NEED volunteers at polling places? And WHY are they asking for military and police types??? Polling staff are there working, WHY do they need people at the polling places, too?

Bring video cameras or take phone videos.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Good plan

[SDJay]

8. Very good point. Voters should also use those cell phones

to call the local media. This is illegal in most places, and shady at best. Local TV folks would eat this up, and at worst, these scumbags would scatter like cockroaches as soon as a TV van came into view. Rat bastards.

If this happens to me in CA, which it almost certainly will not given our blue status, I'll also ask for the person's name, supervisor's name and contact information after they hand me that 'helpful information.'

Make noise about this. It matters and it can be quelled with the proper attention.

[nc4bo]

15. I guess I should clear up my camera's memory card....nt

[progressivebydesign]

5. K&R for everyone to see that we need to be on our toes, and carrying cameras. n/t

[rvablue]

6. K&R n/t

[Median Democrat]

7. Hmm, Electioneering While In Line To Vote, Is That Okay?

[BrklynLiberal]

11. No. It is not OK.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/electioneering.htm

Laws against campaigning or "electioneering" in and around polling places are pretty much universal, though each state boasts its own specific regulations and varying degrees of enforcement.

The majority of states use language prohibiting voters and poll workers from "distributing," "circulating," "posting," or "exhibiting" campaign materials within 10 to 200 feet of polling places. This is sometimes interpreted as including buttons, t-shirts, hats, and other political garb (often called "passive electioneering"), but is more often restricted to signs, posters, fliers, pamphlets, and the like.

At least 10 states -- Delaware, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont -- explicitly prohibit the wearing of pins, buttons, stickers, labels, or other "political insignia."

[SeattleGirl]

12. Not sure the person emailing said her husband was in line. I do

know that most states (maybe all; sorry, not sure), have a specific distance beyond which it's okay to promote your candidate; inside that perimeter, it's not.

Given that, though, if those asshats had tried that with me, I would have told them to back off, and keep their pamphlets full of lies to themselves.

[donco6]

13. Not anywhere I've ever lived. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

10. K&R, there's work to be done, and like right now!

We let this pass the last two cycles. Never again.

[yardwork]

14. If they try this in many parts of North Carolina, there's going to be trouble.

There are quite a few cities - and Charlotte is one of them - where voters are likely to respond un-calmly to being harassed by McCain/Palin staffers.

If the McCain campaign is trying to start riots, this is a good plan. I don't think that will help them, though.

[JuniperLea]

17. Voter Fraud Notification...

Here is a link for the California voters. They give a phone number too: To contact the Fraud and Investigations Unit, please call [phone] or you can lodge a recorded complaint by calling 1-800-345-VOTE.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_fraud.htm

Everyone can do this! Google "voter fraud" and your state's name, and you can find a number to call in your area. Take pictures with your cell phone or bring a camera. We cannot let "them" get away with this crap this time!

[ladyVet]

19. I've been googling.....

Here's some stuff I found re: political clothing etc at polling places in NC:

From the blog http://www.reflector.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/drpolitics/entries/2008/09/25/north_carolina_poll_workers_wo.html

By Ginger Livingston | Thursday, September 25, 2008, 08:48 AM

*snip*

Workers at the State Board of Elections received about 30 calls and e-mails Tuesday from voters who received an e-mail stating it’s against the law to wear politically themed clothing — T-shirts, buttons, caps for example — into polls on Election Day, said Don Wright, staff attorney with the N.C. State Board of Elections.

*snip*

In a statement he e-mailed to local boards of election, Wright said people wearing T-shirts or other political items can vote “as long as they proceed to vote in an orderly and timely manner, and do not attempt to electioneer within the voting place.”

Electioneering would involve making political statements inside the polling area or drawing attention to the logo on the clothing, he said.

_________

From earlier in the blog:

It appears the e-mail stemmed from a Monday broadcast of “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” which originates from WBLS 107.5 in New York, he said. (That is, Wright said this.)

**bolding is mine**
__________

I've been looking for an official rule on this, and haven't been able to navigate the state's website to find it. I know that I have seen people with buttons, shirts, caps, etc at polls before, there to vote, and they were not made to cover or remove those items.

As far as the pulling people from the line, I don't believe they are allowed to do that--and at my polling place, being in line means being inside where the machines are, and that would definately be not allowed, as it is electioneering.