Noting without comment a published account of this arrest near a mail-in drop off site in Media, PA., I feel compelled to point out some basic precepts governing voting in this Commonwealth that some people may not be familiar with.
Voter intimidation is illegal. At least in Pennsylvania.
From the Commonwealth of PA’s official site:
Intimidating a voter can result in up to two years’ imprisonment. 1 If you deprive or attempt to deprive someone of their right to vote, it can result in up to five years’ imprisonment. 2
Please report instances of voter intimidation to the appropriate county board of elections and district attorney. Voters should also report them to the Department of State at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772).
As the website notes, “Intimidation, interference, and discrimination can take many forms.” Prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to:
- Physical threats.
- Interfering with or blocking access to:
- the entrance or exit to the polling place
- accessible accommodations for voters with disabilities
- voter sign-in tables or voting booths/voting machines
- secure ballot receptacles provided by the county
- mailboxes provided by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
- Using threatening language or threateningly brandishing a weapon in or near a polling place.
- Disrupting, following or interrogating voters.
- It is also illegal to send out knowingly false information about the time, place, or manner of voting to prevent people from properly casting their ballots. 4
- Pretending to be an election official or law enforcement authority.
- Interfering with or violating a voter's right to a secret ballot at any point in the process.
- Vandalism of polling places, polling place equipment/materials, secure ballot receptacles, or mailboxes.
- Photographing, recording or videotaping voters to intimidate them.
- Posting signs in the polling place, at a secure ballot receptacle, or at a USPS mailbox to intimidate voters or drive support for or against a candidate.
- Routine and frivolous challenges to a voter's eligibility by election workers or private citizens that are made without a stated good faith basis.
- Direct confrontation or questioning of voters, including asking voters for documentation or proof of eligibility when none is required.
(emphasis supplied)
The bottom line is whatever you may conjure up in your head that you think might be effective advocacy — even if your intent is non-nefarious — if it’s done with a discernable result of intimidating or disrupting a person’s vote, you risk being cited. If it’s deemed egregious enough, you risk being imprisoned. “Interfering with” and “disrupting” are very, very broad terms.
They can encompass an equally broad range of behaviors:
Any activity that threatens, harasses, or intimidates voters outside the polling place, inside the polling place, at secure ballot receptacles, at mailboxes, or at county election offices is illegal.
If you see it, report it.
That’s all.
