Intimidation

It appears that the Obama administration Justice Department is going to allow voter intimidation at polling places. Several places are covering it, but for fair and balanced news, I go to Fox.

A lawsuit brought by the Bush administration against three members of the New Black Panther Party has been dropped by the Obama Justice Department. The move comes despite an eyewitness account and a YouTube video of the men seemingly attempting to scare away would-be voters on Election Day, in apparent violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The civil complaint accused the men of coercion, making threats, intimidation and hurling racial slurs while at a Philadelphia polling station on November 4. Prosecutors say one of the men brandished a nightstick, which they called a deadly weapon.

Bartle Bull, a former 1960s civil rights lawyer and Election day poll watcher, said in an affidavit that it was: "The most blatant form of voter intimidation... they were positioned in a location that forced every voter to pass in close proximity to them. The weapon was openly displayed and brandished in plain sight of voters."

You can read the complete complaint as filed, here. In my opinion, voter intimidation is wrong, whether done by the Ayyan Brotherhood, or the New Black Panther party.

Glen Reynolds opines:

In light of this, I suppose no one will object if armed Republican backers show up at the polls next time.

To borrow a phrase. Indeed!