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Sheriff asked to investigate ballot-box surveillance
Source: MyNorthwest
SEATTLE (AP) — An elections director in Washington state’s most populous county says her office is asking the sheriff’s office to investigate people who planted signs near ballot boxes warning voters they were “under surveillance.”
In a statement Tuesday evening, King County Elections Director Julie Wise blasted what she called an effort to scare voters, The Seattle Times reported.
“I believe this is a targeted, intentional strategy to intimidate and dissuade voters from using secure ballot drop boxes. My team is not going to stand by and allow any group to seed fear and doubt amongst our residents and voters, especially not when they are simply trying to make their voices heard,” Wise said.
The signs were posted near ballot boxes in Seattle and suburban locations, with red letters warning the boxes were “Under Surveillance” and saying that accepting money “for harvesting or depositing ballots” may violate federal law.
In a statement Tuesday evening, King County Elections Director Julie Wise blasted what she called an effort to scare voters, The Seattle Times reported.
“I believe this is a targeted, intentional strategy to intimidate and dissuade voters from using secure ballot drop boxes. My team is not going to stand by and allow any group to seed fear and doubt amongst our residents and voters, especially not when they are simply trying to make their voices heard,” Wise said.
The signs were posted near ballot boxes in Seattle and suburban locations, with red letters warning the boxes were “Under Surveillance” and saying that accepting money “for harvesting or depositing ballots” may violate federal law.
Read more: https://mynorthwest.com/3569137/sheriff-asked-to-investigate-ballot-box-surveillance/
10 replies
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I could totally see people on election day videotaping with their phones - in fact I’d put money on it happening after this, given the nastiness we’ve seen in WA. The question then becomes, can that be legally prevented or prosecuted? If an individual just wants to stand there, 25 feet away, and take video in a public place? You’d have to be able to prove intent to intimidate other voters. Very hard to prove, much harder than proving the initial signs were intimidation. They probably expected those to come down, but the message has now been sent.
