Democratic Party organizations in Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania have filed similar lawsuits.
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Hillary Clinton supporters Barbara Howell, left, and Eileen Walker attend a democratic rally in Newark on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
Meanwhile, the Republicans State Legislative Committee sees opportunities in places like Kentucky, Democrats’ lone holdout in the South.
Lawyers for Democrats all over the United States are filing lawsuits claiming Republicans and the Donald Trump’s campaign are pushing supporters to intimidate and confront voters on election day.
Democrats in Nevada alleged that Trump supporters have yelled at voters and tried to block them from entering early-voting sites, while civil-rights groups in North Carolina and Texas said they have received reports of intimidating behavior at early voting sites.
Unlike in Indiana, Democrats are making the case that Republican Sen.
A federal judge in Phoenix is refusing to issue an injunction sought by Democrats that would have ordered Republicans not to engage in illegal voter intimidation tactics at the polls next week. He said his party can’t be responsible for everyone outside a polling place. Some had guns visible. Knowing how seriously the RNC takes the Consent Decree, I immediately emphasized (with some laughter) that the RNC was not involved in election day operations so that listeners would not misunderstand this. The decree regulates only work done by the RNC and is due to end next year. Judges in Pennsylvania – which Trump has several times singled out as a state where voting should be closely scrutinized – and North Carolina have yet to rule.
On the campaign trail, Trump has warned that the election may be rigged and has called on supporters to keep an eye on voting activity for possible signs of fraud in large cities.
The easiest path then is to simply flip New Hampshire from Democrat to Republican and grab its four electoral votes – so there is a reason Trump has been to the Granite State six times in the past seven weeks.
Throughout Trump’s campaigning, he has said if he is elected as president, he is going to build a 2,000 foot-long wall along the U.S. -Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it to ensure no access for people he calls “rapists” and “criminals”. Rick Hasen noted on the Election Law Blog that this was a odd inclusion, as the groups associated with the Clinton campaign have not demonstrated an attempt to organize such acts. But the judge said he would allow for additional arguments after the election to decide whether the consent decree slated to expire next year should be extended. His advisers say the states he is visiting this week are closer than people think.
Trump’s running mate Mike Pence and his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway were at the center of the DNC’s claims.
“The Democrats’ lawyers have perjured themselves and perpetrated a fraud before the court”, he wrote in a text message.
While Clinton pushes for free tuition for college students whose families make under $125,000, Trump has focused very little on education but said he empathizes with students paying high tuition.
But Republicans have struck back, dropping major dollars across the airwaves in recent days, helping to fortify Ayotte’s position, making the race the truest of toss-ups. State and federal laws already bar intimidation and the Democrats are asking for orders that would unconstitutionally bar protected political speech, they’ve argued in court documents.
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U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez denied the Democratic National Committee’s requests to hold the Republican in contempt of court for allegedly violating the decree. Both have said in public statements over the past two months that Trump was working closely with the RNC to prevent voter fraud by Hillary Clinton voters, though no evidence exists that such fraud is widespread or coordinated.
