Friday, October 15, 2004
Where there's no Smoke, There is Still a Fire, Probably
When I first read on the Drudge Report that the Kerry-Edwards action plan for election day called for Democrats to cry voter intimidation in precincts regardless of whether proof existed, I believed it was a spurious claim. What party in its right mind would do such a thing, and in an open matter. To his credit, Drudge to link to a rebuttal on the DNC website to his report. However, the DNC page does not issue a rebuttal per se, but rather says his excerpt was not taken in full context. After reading their full action plan, I don't think it was.
II. HOW TO ORGANIZE TO PREVENT AND COMBAT VOTER INTIMIDATION
The best way to combat minority voter intimidation tactics is to prevent them from occurring in the first place and prepare in advance to deal with them should they take place on election day.
1. If there are any signs of present or expected intimidation activity, in advance of election day, launch a press program that might include the following elements:
Â? Prepare and distribute to the press (or have available at a press conference, see below) materials giving the background and history of GOP minority voter intimidation, with emphasis on past activity in your state or district.
Â? Devise separate press strategies for mainstream and specialty press:
i. Mainstream press: Consider a press conference
Â? Featuring a prominent mainstream spokesperson (priest, civic leader, business leader)
Â? Including a group of established community leaders behind that spokesperson, but with only one person giving a statement
Â? Emphasizing a message of outrage, but designed to appeal to the broader community: "We thought this community was better than that", "We thought those days were behind us", "Nothing is more despicable than trying to deprive any American of the precious right to vote, the foundation of our democracy for which so many have sacrificed."
Â? Impugning the source of divisiveness Â? the GOP, the opposing candidate, whoever can credibly be said to be behind it
Â? Include call to action
ii. Specialty press
Â? Use minority intimidation as an organizing tool: in a press conference and/or press materials, community leadership should call on the community to rise up against the efforts to disenfranchise them by turning out in record numbers and challenging any effort at intimidation
Â? Link this fight to the historical fights to enfranchise minorities, going back to the civil rights struggle.
2. If no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a "pre-emptive strike" (particularly well-suited to states in which there techniques have been tried in the past).
Â? Issue a press release
i. Reviewing Republican tactic used in the past in your area or state
ii. Quoting party/minority/civil rights leadership as denouncing tactics that discourage people from voting
Â? Prime minority leadership to discuss the issue in the media; provide talking points
Â? Place stories in which minority leadership expresses concern about the threat of intimidation tactics
Â? Warn local newspapers not to accept advertising that is not properly disclaimed or that contains false warnings about voting requirements and/or about what will happen at the polls
3. Train field staff, precinct workers, and your own poll watchers thoroughly in the rules they need to know for election day.
4. Plan and completely prepare for possible legal action well in advance of election day
5. Have Secretary of State record public service announcements about election day Â? when polls are open, who is eligible, etc.
Section 2 clearly spells it out: even if there is no evidence of voter intimidation in a precinct, go ahead and have community leaders talk about it and give the impression that it is going to happen. That in and of itself might indeed have the intended consequence of ensuring it does not happen, but it also enforces the idea that it is likely to occur, further weakening people's perception of how powerful their vote can be.
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