Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia
Category: News & Politics
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 6 years ago • 191 commentsBy: Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul 10 hrs ago (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia
A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting "four more years" as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site.
County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts.
Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.
"Citizens coming into and leaving the building did have to go by them," Gary Scott, the general registrar of Fairfax County, said in a statement. "Those voters who were in line outside of the building were moved inside and we continued operations. Some voters, and elections staff, did feel intimidated by the crowd and we did provide escorts past the group. One of the escorts was the county executive."
In an unnerved electorate, where concerns about voting rights and safely voting amid the coronavirus pandemic are at a fever pitch, the demonstration outside of a polling place served as preview of a likely contentious election season, and how groups may be utilizing tactics that rattle or even deter voters over the next six weeks.
The disruption came as President Trump has repeatedly sought to undermine confidence in the upcoming election, spreading falsehoods about voting by mail and declaring the election "rigged" before any votes have even been cast.
The demonstration originated from a "Trump Train" parade that began in nearby Prince William County and featured Tommy Hicks Jr., the current Republican National Committee co-chairman. The event was set to end in the parking lot of the government center, which was also serving as the polling location on Saturday. Some of the people who attended the parade walked over to vote. Others gathered outside and began chanting, "four more years, four more years!"
Sean Rastatter, a vice chair at the Fairfax County Republican Committee who was at the polling location, said that he did not think any actions came close to voter intimidation, and that many of the discussions from members of the group were with journalists.
"I don't think there was any way to need or feel intimidated in any form," Mr. Rastatter said. He added that county officials asked the group on several instances to back away from the curb, and that the group complied.
Bryan Graham, the chairman of the Fairfax County Democrats who was also at the polling center, saw it differently, writing on Twitter that "the Republicans are straight-up attempting to intimidate voters at the government center."
In an interview, Mr. Graham said he'd "never seen or heard of anything like this happening before."
"I was there when the county executive was there and I saw him walk multiple people through the crowd because they didn't feel safe," Mr. Graham said. "I don't think it's appropriate. We shouldn't be doing things to make people feel unsafe."
Steve Descano, the county attorney, did not directly address the demonstration in a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday, but said that he was "instructing my office to pursue cases of voter intimidation that may occur."
Virginia election law states that it is illegal to "hinder or delay a qualified voter in entering or leaving a polling place," and that it is also prohibited to perform any kind of political advocacy within 40 feet of any entrance to a polling place.
Videos of the demonstrators quickly went viral on social media, and show them gathering outside the entrance, holding up Trump campaign signs and chanting as voters walked past them.
Some election rights groups said that the Trump group might have still crossed a legal line.
"In Virginia, the safe zone around the polling location is only 40 feet, but that safe zone is for campaigning and trying to change a person's vote," said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a voting rights group. "Outside of that, in general, there are laws against intimidation. So I would say that even if they have a right to campaign, which they absolutely do, they do not have a right to interfere with someone's right to vote or to intimidate them."
"To me, this went beyond campaigning and they should have been removed."
The first two days of early voting in Virginia were marked by high turnout and long lines, with voters beginning to line up early in the morning, hours before polls opened. The state offered expanded early voting in an attempt to alleviate crowding at polling centers during the pandemic.
Ms. Albert added that the demonstration underscored the need for counties and municipalities to develop contingency voting plans for all situations.
"Contingency plans aren't only if there is a hurricane or a pandemic," she said. "It's also if something is making my polling location inaccessible to voters. That could be power going down, that could be people protesting and blocking the door."
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The disruption came as President Trump has repeatedly sought to undermine confidence in the upcoming election, spreading falsehoods about voting by mail and declaring the election "rigged" before any votes have even been cast.
I'm glad I live in a vote by mail state. the temptation might prove to be too great to protect and defend our most basic American right from autocrat enabling fascist scumbags.
Can you show that these intimidation techniques did not succeed even once?
How do you feel about Trump supporters being so terrified of the election that they are actively trying to dissuade people from voting? They don't seem very confidant in their candidate's ability to win.
Are you talking about the people in this story? Because I don't see them trying to dissuade people from voting. They seem to be encouraging people to vote for Trump. Their signs say Trump and Pence, not "don't vote."
It's called a hard spin. They see a kitten and claim a lion.
Once again Texan you made the claim that you didn't see anyone prevented from voting.
Now from here your choices are:
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I won't be intimidated by POUTUS supporters. I will do my early voting probably on a Saturday or after work and walk into that library and get 'er done. But I will be wearing my steel toes that day
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[Texan is not the topic]
It's in the seeded article. Read it.
Doesn't answer my question...as usual.
If I were voting in person, I would bring a STFU TARDS sign with me just in case.
You would need to stay 100 feet away from the polling place then; just like they did.
That's not a political sign
Still refusing to answer the question.
Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building.
Gee, sounds a lot like peaceful protesting was going on.
Yeah, nothing illegal; but the left is still bitching. What else is new?
Seems the left forgets what voter intimidation really looks like. So here is a reminder.
Wow..... got anything more relevant than a video from 2010? He looks so threatening too.
Keep in mind, in most states, you'll find laws that prohibit campaigning inside, or within 100' of a polling place.
Republicans are such candy-asses.
Please post something that isn't 10 years old. Seriously.
Oops, I didn't see your call-out, and posted my own. Ordinarily, I would delete, but in this case it's worth saying twice.
Exactly. This is a peaceful demonstration. Nobody throwing things. No fires lit. No windows broken. An actually peaceful demonstration.
That's a great point!
Oh wait, I guess it's not a great point. Sorry, I guess you should have read the article.
They aren't the ones complaining. Instead we have people complaining about people who are 100 feet from the entrance, and are not blocking it. Complaining about that sounds pretty candy ass to me.
What do you mean by intimidating? Do you think people were afraid to vote? Afraid to approach the building.
How are they intimidating? Do they seem violent? Were they chanting threats? Shaking their fists? Pointing weapons? Throwing things? Maybe hiding their faces in case they decided get rough with people or vandalize something?
Oh wait. I just looked at the picture again. A bunch of those people are African Americans. Are they intimidating because they're black?
It's not a really peaceful demonstration until a car gets lit on fire.
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Actually, liberals tend to be college graduates while conservatives mostly haven't even graduated high school.
Right, those precincts in cities that vote 99% for Democrats are conclaves of Rhodes scholars.
Hate to burst your bubble, but the last time exit polls measured voters without a high school degree, 2012, it was the group Obama ran up his largest margins.
And I’ll bet if you looked at those precincts with the highest percentage of voters who lacked high school degrees, Clinton cleaned up there too.
pffft, thumper colleges don't count ...
Dog-do!
They are breaking the law by interfering. LOCK THEM UP!
I doubt that such demonstrating will change a single vote, and if any were changed it would be away from Trump and toward Biden. The election officials there must make sure though that no voters are actually impeded or blocked or threatened and if necessary arrests should be made.
It won't change anything. Fairfax voted blue in 2016, and I can't see them going red this time around.
They live in Virginia, and are therefore Virginians, and have every much as right to vote in their state of residence as any other Virginian. Unless you're for taxation without representation?
Why would you assume they come from Maryland, or that Maryland has been destroyed? Why would you think Virginia is "going into the toilet"? Our economy took a hit from the virus, but so did the economy worldwide, and we seem to be recovering pretty well. Virginia ranks high in the US in the percentage of our population with a college education, and our high school graduation rate is above average. Our rates of poverty and violent crime are lower than the national average. What's in "the toilet"?
BTW, Maryland doesn't look all that bad, either.
Please post a verifiable link.
Perhaps you'll recognize this source. It's a newspaper from your neck of the woods, which, according to MBFC, is right-center:
Seems like we were in pretty good shape heading into the pandemic.
Virginia law enforcement officers still have qualified immunity.
So post that on your business' website and refuse all of their business.
So.....tell us again what you think of Trump supporters.
I'm curious to hear your description again.
I want to see his papers
Then what does that sentence mean?
You're calling them swamp dwellers and accusing them of depending on gov't spending. Sounds an awful lot like you're calling them moochers
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I would never intentionally insult Tessy. If I did, I do apologize.
What.....Paula deliberately insulting you?
Never happen. Both you and Paula have too much class to wallow in the gutter like the Repubs and throw deliberate insults out just to see who takes the bait and then sit back and laugh.
While I did not see what Paula wrote, I don't need to. I have been here a loong time, and it is not hard to figure people out and their MO. And Friends don't insult Friends. Only A-holes do that, and that leaves both of these ladies out of the equation.
Reinstate this comment, charger. They are friends and neither one would insult the other. And no offense, but I'm not sure why you are moderating this seed. You are not needed here.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hahahahahahasnortcoughcoughdoublesnorthahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
I doubt it too. Same with people throwing tantrums about supporters of a candidate. I do think rioting and looting that is allowed by one party has the potential to sway votes though.
If anything, I hope that those who were going to vote Trump sees just what a whackado he is with these protests and change their votes to Biden.
Leave it to the Shit Stain in the white house supporters to fuck with an election...but what else is new. Disgusting pieces of shit. And you won't hear a peep from his supporters condemning this.
What's to condemn....we're talking about freedom of speech and expression here?
Nope, not when it interferes with someone else's voting rights. No business being there unless they are casting a vote.
Sorry, but according to the Constitution and all applicable law, that have every right to be there. That their presence bothers a few delicate Dems is irrelevant
Intimidation is interference.
Any campaigning within 100 feet of a polling location is illegal in most if not all states Greg.....
Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building.
By contrast, many Biden supporters appear to enjoy harassing and intimidating old people eating their lunch, blocking traffic, etc, etc.
I'm not in the mood to fuck around with you today. Stop or leave.
Last warning.
Intimidation is different things to different people. Yelling 'trump that bitch' and forcing folks to walk around them would freak the hell out of an elderly couple.
Besides, those Trump supporters would not be doing what they are doing if it wasn't intimidating to non-Trump supporters.
Correct, but the distance is actually 500 YARDS.
I say bullshit. Prove your silly assertion
100 feet is not 500 yards.
Read the damn article- they didn't violate any laws. Just some butt-hurt Democrats complaining about nothing again.
Want to talk about the Democratic backed leftist Brown Shirts committing arson, assault, murder, and looting? That is real damn intimidation. Especially their threats to "Burn it all fucking down!" if Trump wins reelection. Nothing intimidating about that according to the "our speech is the only free speech allowed" left.
500 yards? You mean 1,500 feet? Over a quarter of a mile? That seems a little extreme.
I am now more convinced than ever.
you just make stuff up as you go along...
you had to do like zero research to come up with 1500 ft
Isn't it amazing how some human beings can go into reverse evolution.
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No worries, It's always a great deal of fun to walk in front of them with a Biden/Harris sign/flag/t-shirt in full display.
As long as they don't interfere with a person voting they are within their rights. Interfere with a person's right to vote it becomes a whole different story.
Gosh, I wish that were true. I see old people just walk out in front of cars and I think "How the hell did you get to be so old, doing shit like this?" Some people are just beating the odds.
You were saying,
I don't know when that happened, but they sure as hell have to replicate the award an awful lot of times for the people who said "Mask? I don't wear masks. It's contrary to my individual rights and freedoms", and then died from the virus.
What?! That's outrageous! How many people were prevented from voting?
None? Oh.
But surely what they were doing was illegal! Arrest them!
So what is all the crying about then? This looks like more political pearl clutching where somebody decides to make a big deal out of something that's actually pretty ordinary.
Now this is the kind of activism I think most of us can get behind, or in front of...
This reminded me that I need a new avatar. I couldn't find a pic of her, though. Dammit.
You mean I can't wear my "Fuck Trump" t-shirt into the polling place???
People are just killjoys
Illegal, so much for "law and order", if any Biden supporters had tried this you can bet they would have been arrested.