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Scaring student voters at Drexel
October 7, 2008
Leaflets from a person identifying himself as an "Obama" supporter "warn" people of the presence of undercover police who will arrest voters with outstanding warrants at the polls, and that they should clear up any traffic tickets prior to going to the polls.[1]
Intimidation at Drexel U
A letter from an anonymous student which was posted on the Drexel College Democrats website read: "He informed me that on the day of the election there will be undercover officers to execute warrants on those who come to vote based on the anticipated turnout. He advised me if I had any outstanding warrants or traffic offenses I should clear them up prior to voting."[1]
"The basic idea is that you intimidate people by saying that law enforcement is using the polling place to catch scofflaws...criminals...whoever. It's basically a deterrent to keep people away from voting," said Allen Raymond, a former Republican operative who went to prison for three-months in 2006 for his involvement in a scheme to jam the phones at headquarters of the Democratic get-out-the vote effort in New Hampshire in 2002.[1] Raymond says these tactics evolved from other voter intimidation schemes in the early 1980s when the GOP's "Ballot Security Task Force" used armed off-duty police officers at the polling places in New Jersey and posted signs reading "voter fraud is a felony."[1]
