Chatham Observers Remain Vigilant Against Threat of Voter Intimidation

By Hannah McClellan, Chatham News + Record Staff

Last February, demonstrators donning Confederate flags and apparel gathered outside the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center in Pittsboro — one of the county’s one-stop primary early voting sites — shouting slurs and “Trump 2020.” The Ag center’s single-road entrance meant all potential voters had to walk through the demonstration in order to enter the building.

It’s an event the North Carolina NAACP took seriously at the time, writing a letter on Feb. 24 to the N.C. General Counsel and State Board of Elections, nine days after what it described as the “disturbing voter intimidation incident” took place in Chatham.

“There is no place for racism at North Carolina’s polls. Preventing voter intimidation in all forms is a central focus of our organizations in the 2020 election cycle,” read the letter, which was also co-signed by more than 15 other leaders and organizations. The letter said witnesses reported feeling “intimidated and harassed, and others chose to leave to avoid entering the demonstration area.

“Given the history of intimidation and violence by members of neo-Confederate groups, this incident underscores our concern for the safety of the public and of poll workers and elections officials during the early voting process and on Election Day,” the letter said. “We therefore write to ask that the State Board of Elections (SBOE) take emergency and proactive action to ensure that voters are able to access the polls in the primary and general elections, free of any voter intimidation or harassment.”

Just eight months later, some voting and advocacy groups in Chatham have concerns that similar methods of intimidation might take place as folks show up to vote in the 2020 general election. A week into early voting, which began Oct. 15, more than 1.8 million ballots have been cast in the state, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections website. By Tuesday, 21,089 of those ballots were cast in Chatham — a turnout of 36.71% of registered voters in the county.

Still, while the early success is promising, local leaders are remaining vigilant.

Alirio Estevez, the leader of Voto Latino Chatham, an organization encouraging Latinx Chatham residents to vote, says he hasn’t seen any intimidation so far.

“But the concern is that President Trump has repeatedly said that he wants his army to patrol the polling sites — that is very scary for some people, especially some Latinos here in the area, because they may be afraid that some people may try to go to the polls and intimidate them,” he said.

Since Thursday, Voto Latino Chatham has been at a Siler City one-stop early voting place for at least part of every day. The group is making Siler City a priority not only due to the large population of Latinx residents there, Estevez said, but also because of the large number of Republican and conservative voters, some of whom he said citizens fear are “on the fringe.”

Both the Chatham County Democratic Party and the Chatham County GOP have had tents set up outside of the polling site, along with a group called “You Can Vote,” a bipartisan volunteer organization based in Durham. These groups can help answer questions for potential voters about the voting process and registration. Though the pre-election registration period is over in N.C., all citizens can register to vote at a one-stop early voting site now until the last day of early voting on Oct. 31.

People cannot register to vote on Election Day.

“I’m out here to make sure everyone is registered to vote, making sure they’re not feeling intimidated by anyone else out here,” You Can Vote volunteer Germilia Taylor told the News + Record last Thursday, where she worked the ag center polling location. “This is an important election; we’re going to be a part of history.”

In an Oct. 9 memo from the N.C. State Board of Elections, Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell warned county boards of elections to be vigilant in “prohibit(ing) intimidation and coercion at the polls.”

“Election officials must be prepared to respond immediately to behavior that disrupts or threatens to disrupt the peace and order of a polling site,” she wrote. “If the behavior poses a threat to any person’s safety, the election official should immediately contact local law enforcement for assistance.”

According to N.C. statute 163-48, any concerns about voter intimidation should be communicated to the chief judge of a polling location, who can then call on law enforcement at their discretion.

“The chief judge and judges of election shall enforce peace and good order in and about the place of registration and voting,” that statute reads. “They shall especially keep open and unobstructed the place at which voters or persons seeking to register or vote have access to the place of registration and voting. They shall prevent and stop improper practices and attempts to obstruct, intimidate, or interfere with any person in registering or voting.”

The statute gives the chief judge authority to “eject from the place of registration or voting any challenger or witness for violation of any provisions of the election laws” and makes them responsible for preventing “riots, violence, tumult, or disorder.”

Still, Sheriff Mike Roberson told the News + Record that while his office is attuned to threats, the public notion of voter intimidation does not always align with the illegal practice.

“Voter intimidation, in the legal sense, and feeling intimidated are different things,” he said. “Someone might go to vote wearing a confederate flag jacket, and it might make others uncomfortable, but that’s not illegal.”

That’s where groups like Voto Latino Chatham step in — saying they’re there to ensure people feel safe to vote, under any form of intimidation, interpreted as being technically legal or not.

“We would like to see as many Latino voters to get out and vote and to invite their friends, their family members to go out and vote because this election is very important for the future of their family, the future of the community, their own future,” Estevez said. “And we really want those people to feel safe, that they can exercise their right to vote without any fear. And hopefully, by the end of the election, we can see that the rate of a Latino participation has increased, especially here in Chatham County.”

Chatham N+R staff reporter Lars Dolder contributed to this report.

 

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The Chatham News + Record is Chatham County’s source for local news and journalism. The Chatham News, established in 1924, and the Chatham Record, founded in 1878, have come together to better serve the Chatham community as the Chatham News + Record. Covering news, business, sports and more, the News + Record is working to strengthen community ties through compelling coverage of life in Chatham County.