(PatriotWise.com) — The far-left voting rights and anti-police group, the Advancement Project, is warning minority voters that they might face voter intimidation when they go to their polling places in 2024 and has offered suggestions on what to do if a right-wing extremist tries to stop them from voting.
Voter intimidation is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison. If you are intimidated while at the polls to vote, report the intimidation to the election administrators at the polling station.
The group encourages those who witness voter intimidation not to confront whoever is doing the intimidating, partly for safety but also to ensure that the situation doesn’t escalate and cause others at the polling place to feel intimidated.
Additionally, since the Advancement Project is anti-police, the group warns that confronting an intimidator could get the police involved, and for voters with previous felonies, the presence of the police might make them feel intimidated.
The group encourages voters to document the alleged intimidation and report it to the County Board of Elections and the District Attorney’s office.
The Advancement Project also considers vote challenges a form of voter intimidation and notes that challengers must present proof that a voter at a polling place is not eligible to vote, and once they have made the challenge, they are required to leave the polling place.
The group also encourages those who believe they are being targeted by voter intimidation to call the Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE). This hotline is run by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.
Not everyone who engages in overt voter intimidation is charged with a crime.
In 2009, the Obama Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division declined to prosecute a group of Black Panthers who stood guard outside of a Philadelphia polling place armed with semi-automatic rifles during the 2008 presidential election.
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