The New Black Panthers have infiltrated Poll Worker Positions

[cthulu2016]

As official poll workers they plan to intimidate and harass white voters.

Oh wait... no they haven't. It is the Tea Party Voter Integrity Project that has infiltrated the ranks of poll workers, in Ohio, to intimidate and harass non-white voters.

Sorry for my mistake. There's obviously no story here.

Some elections officials, however, have expressed concerns about the Voter Integrity Project’s training of poll workers in southwestern Ohio, where the group is advertising the sessions as going beyond what the secretary of state tells them. Some of the project's members apparently have signed up to serve as poll workers themselves, too.

Tim Burke, Hamilton County elections director, said, “We know that the Voter Integrity Project has recruited and through the (Hamilton) County Republican Party has placed some poll workers. I have discussed this with my Republican counterpart.

“I accept the fact that he understands that the VIP pollworkers are working for the Board of Elections on Election Day and are subject to the board’s instructions, not the VIP instruction. Obviously both sides are going to have observers as well as poll workers. I, and others will spend the day responding to trouble calls.”

http://dispatchpolitics.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2012/11/1-november-2012---poll-chaos.html

In case anyone misses the reference, in 2008 FOX was going 24/7 with a made-up thing about how a group of a few guys calling themselves the New Black Panthers (which hardly anyone had even heard of) were taking over the electoral process because a couple of them were seen standing outside a polling place somewhere. But when a real extremist racist organization somehow gets to train real pollworkers (inaccurately) and even places members of that organization in real jobs at polling places it's just another routine election story.

[a geek named Bob]

1. damn...

and here I was hoping for a rousing chorus of "Power to the People!"

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. Because it's in my contract: Link? Freakin' hate the tea party..

[nc4bo]

3. Orgs like TTV are using black panther videos to counter our voices and those of people like Rev.Al

Just google TTV and Al Sharpton and see for yourself. He's on their radar and I'm sure there are others.

These bigots and racists make me want to and I really think their efforts are going to backfire on them - BIGTIME!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Funny thing is the Teabaggers has an email circulating in 2008 which warned of the NBP doing that.

I'll never forget it. I learned a lot about the people in my precinct that election day.

[cthulu2016]

6. Hence the reference. It's only big news when it's fake.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. Ah, I was working the election that day. I never thought about everyone else who wasn't being...

Pissed, and hearing about it, too.

They are a vile and and racist group. I've seen it first hand. I'll never forget, and I call everyone of them out when they deny being racist.

They hate minorities more than they care about their own better interest. It's disgusting.

[upaloopa]

5. If Huey Newton was alive today the tea party would be

shitting their pants before they could intimidate one single voter.

[vilify]

7. awesome title

It should be posted on a RW site and watch how many clicks it gets.

[Mr.Bill]

8. On election day there is no tea party

They are just republicans. They will simply vote for every one with an R after their name.

[Hugabear]

10. AFAIK, the NBP were not inside any of the polling places - they were outside, no interference at all

And even then I believe it was only a couple of NBP that were standing outside of a single polling place. Hardly the widespread intimidation that the right-wingers would have you believe. Which also explains why complaints against the NBP were dismissed out of hand, they were not doing anything wrong.

However, in this case, you have right-wing thugs INSIDE the polling places, in a position where they can wield DIRECT intimidation against minority voters.

[Dash87]

11. I still remember Hannity's sniveling

About a group with a double digit membership supposedly having the power to influence the election.

I think it was mostly a dog whistle to the racists.

[smaug]

14. They [NBP] had more thn 4-5 members?

I thought it was a total made up joke. So, they have what: 12 members?

Geez.

[Dash87]

18. It was a generous estimate.

I better be careful, though. The wingnuts might see that and think that their organization is expanding. lol

[Erose999]

15. Fox News goes apeshit over 2 guys with a club. Meanwhile its ok for the fucking KKK to open carry at

the presidents appearances.

All Fox News has ever been is a dog whistle to racists.

[Dash87]

19. Pretty much. Yelling the n-word: perfectly fine. Wearing guns in plain view: fine.

A group of 5 people hold a press conference that nobody went to or cared about: "OMG THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY'S THREATENING EVERYONE!"

[musical_soul]

12. They should have observers from both sides.

[hootinholler]

17. These are not observers

These are workers, the people who mark the voter rolls and issue ballots, etc. THe observers should be vigilant about them and contact the legal team when the first issue arises.

[Erose999]

13. Did the NBP's recruit more than 5 members or am I missing something here?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

16. Scrap the whole concept of "Poll Watchers"

Boards of Election should be bi-partisan, and should appoint poll workers who are from both parties in equal numbers. Poll workers should be rigorously trained and should be required by oath to uphold state election laws.

The whole idea that third-party organizations are now necessary to "monitor" polling places is a bullshit excuse by the right wing to institutionalize voter intimidation. These organizations are engaging in partisan politcal activity, and they are doing it in the polling place -- nearly all states require these activities to occur at some distance (often 100 ft or more) away from where voting takes place.