We've just received the day's first official update on voting irregularities. Many are of the same type that Election Protection has been seeing since 2001: Understaffed polling sites, late poll openings, poorly trained poll workers, and malfunctioning machines are the most common.
But there have also been disturbing reports of voter intimidation that folks here are still trying to confirm.
- Volunteers have heard news of foul play from people—yet to be identified—who are trying to stop voters from getting to the polls altogether. Election Protection has confirmed that robocalls went out in New Hampshire and Maine yesterday, incorrectly telling voters that they could vote online. Similar calls reported in New Orleans have yet to be verified.
- In Kansas, the attorney general’s office has reported robocalls telling voters that election day is tomorrow, and that they must bring a voter-registration card and proof of ownership to their polling places—things that are not required by Kansas election law, which only requires identification for first-time voters.
- In Houston, Texas, presumed vote-stoppers are reverting to old-fashioned tactics. A flyer from a fake group called the Black Democratic Trust of Texas—which I have in hand (and by hand, I mean my inbox)—warns voters: “Republicans are trying to trick us! When you vote straight ticket Democratic, it is actually voting for Republicans, and your vote doesn’t count.” Featuring the president’s familiar campaign slogan “Yes We Can!” in bold letters, the flyer goes on to tell voters that the only way to vote for a Democratic ticket is to cast their ballot for gubernatorial candidate Bill White.