Voter intimidation complaints multiply in key states in presidential election

WASHINGTON.— Almost 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots, and within a week of the presidential election, many voters have reported intimidation at the polls, lack of bilingual ballots, and the presence of armed extremists at the polls. .

Reports of toll-free lines run by civic groups and nonprofit organizations in recent weeks have grown in at least a dozen states,

as Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida.

According to data from the US Elections Project, nearly 70 million Americans have already voted early, of which 46.5 million have done so by mail, and more than 23 million in person.

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The pattern of complaints worries electoral authorities and activists interviewed by Noticias Telemundo, who fear a suppression of the vote of minorities, more inclined towards Democratic candidates.

Andrew Willis Garcés, an activist with the Siembra NC group in North Carolina, said his group has documented, with photos and testimonies, cases of intimidation of Latino voters.

Garcés gave the example of Ricky Salazar, born in the United States to Mexican parents, who went to his polling place in Greensboro on October 15 to vote for the first time.

"Eight Siembra activists accompanied Ricky because it was his first time and he was nervous," Garcés said, "we were all speaking Spanish and making jokes, and we saw when a white-haired man approached and began to observe us and take notes" .

“There were a lot of people in line, but

and he didn't want to give us his name.

We reported it to the authorities, but we have not received a response, "he added.

According to Garcés, his group has also received reports of a lack of bilingual ballots or interpreters, in areas where there must be by law, given the high percentage of minority voters who do not speak English.

Even with the acts of intimidation, "people are very excited, and we have already registered 1,000 Latino voters in 14 months," he added.

As part of its registration campaign, SiembraNC also educates Latinos about their rights and asks them to report any problems at the polls to the toll-free lines established by Democracy NC and NALEO, 1-888-OUR-VOTE and 1-888-VE. -Y-VOTE, respectively.

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In Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, Erika Sutherland, a Panamanian-born Spanish teacher, has been offering training workshops at Muhlenberg College to nearly a hundred interpreters for the polling stations for weeks, and also educates on how to respond to an escalation of tensions .

"We spend a lot of time doing that, to create an environment in which Latino voters feel safe, because our mantra is that everyone who can vote should have the right to do so," emphasized Sutherland, who has already cast his vote in advance.

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For its part, the Electionland project of the ProPublica organization, a network of newsrooms from across the country that come together for each election and in which Noticias Telemundo participates, has also been collecting complaints about possible acts of intimidation of voters who call a toll-free phone line, or they share them through text messages, WhatsApp and Facebook, or an online form.

Many of the complaints have been handed over to the authorities of the electoral precincts for their eventual investigation.

Harassment with caravans of vehicles

So far there have been no reports of physical confrontations, but there have been a lot of tension in the presence of supporters of the president, Donald Trump, who arrive at voting centers with music, megaphones and large flags of the Republican campaign.

Sometimes they block traffic with their cars, trucks, or off-road vehicles.

Heather Ferguson, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a nonpartisan group authorized by the state to monitor elections, described two incidents two weeks ago in Albuquerque, where caravans of Trump supporters have harassed voters at the entrance to voting centers.

One of the incidents occurred in a neighborhood with a high percentage of Latinos, where Trump supporters were stationed on both sides of the street, shouting, waving signs, and blocking traffic.

In the second incident, Trump supporters drove their vehicles at low speed, honking their horns and completely blocking the entrance to the voting center, until an election judge came out to warn them that they could not violate the regulations.

In both cases,

and sought alternative voting sites, said Ferguson, whose group has turned over all related materials to the state attorney's office.

“People told us that they were very intimidated because they had to go through where the group was, and we gave them other places to go.

"he said.

Since the United States does not have a centralized electoral system, each state government establishes its laws and requirements on voting methods, deadlines, and requirements, but all must also comply with federal laws that guarantee access to the polls.

In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in the case known as

, virtually eliminating federal oversight in constituencies that previously had discrimination problems at the polls.

And that, according to activists, deepens the type of problems and irregularities that are registered in the voting centers.

The Army For Trump

Other Trump supporters, who belong to the so-called Army For Trump, of election monitors recruited by his campaign, also station themselves outside the voting centers with the intention of intimidating opponents, according to activists.

Trump and his allies have urged supporters to become "ballot watchers" to combat "mass fraud," a virtually non-existent problem, according to election experts.

In an announcement last September, Trump's eldest son, Don Jr., said without proof: “The radical left paves the way to steal this election from my father.

[...] We need every man and woman to join this army for Trump's electoral security operation. "

Typically, these Trump supporters crowd organically into polling stations, sometimes violating regulations regarding the distance they must keep from incoming voters to cast their vote.

However,

by far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, and the Boogaloos, who have mobilized their members to guard the polls.

Some tend to take to the streets armed, and that could spark preventable clashes, according to observers. 

Not everyone can appear at a polling station as an official observer.

Depending on the laws in each state, those who wish to work as observers or monitors have to meet a series of requirements, including attending training workshops;

be registered;

be appointed by the party, and obtain a letter of certification from the state secretary of state.