The American Democracy Minute for October 11, 2022
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Today’s Links
Articles:
Washington Post – RNC seizes on political affiliations of poll workers in swing states
Arizona Mirror – The RNC is suing Maricopa County for not hiring enough Republican election workers
Washington Post – One charged, another sentenced for threatening election officials
The Guardian – Republican push to recruit election deniers as poll workers causes alarm
Brennan Center for Justice – Arizona Poll Workers: Rules and Constraints
Groups Taking Action:
Brennan Center for Justice, All Voting is Local, Arizona Democracy Resource Center, Native Vote
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The effort to sow doubt in American elections has a new front: Questioning the partisan affiliation of poll workers. Republican National Committee lawsuits just filed in Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada – all battleground states – claim that Republicans are underrepresented as poll workers. Chief election officials are calling it disinformation.
The Washington Post and Arizona Mirror are reporting that the RNC filed suits in Maricopa County, Arizona, where the county elections board is four Republicans and one Democrat. The RNC says that the county used 712 Republicans and 857 Democrats as poll workers. They argue that the long hours required, which may include nights or weekends, make it difficult for Republicans to be involved in the process. RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a social media post that Republicans were “shut out of the process.”
Similar lawsuits have popped up in Nevada, and three cities in Michigan, each with the same approach.
Chief election officials however, have not minced words. Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin, a Republican, called it a “lie,” and that he was, quote, “sick of grifters attacking AZ.” County officials told the Arizona Mirror that the week before primary election day, there were still 220 open poll worker positions.
Threats by election deniers have contributed to those shortages. September 29th, an Iowa man was arrested for threatening to hang a Maricopa County election official. We have links to articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.