[Chris Wallace] You go first.
I’m encouraging my supporters to go into the polls
and watch very carefully because that’s what has to happen.
I am urging them to do it.
[Male Journalist] President Trump has been calling
for an army of poll watchers to monitor election sites.
[Trump] We’re going to have sheriffs
and we’re going to have law enforcement and we’re going,
[Female Journalist] And his comments are raising fears
about voter intimidation.
[Male Journalist 2] They’re worried about the threat
of armed men at polling places.
[Man] There’s a long history in the United States
of poll watchers and poll intimidation.
[light but dramatic music]
Poll watching when done right,
serves an important function.
We want our elections to be transparent.
We want to know that eligible voters
are not being disenfranchised,
that ineligible voters are not being allowed to vote.
I mean, this is a regular thing
in all elections throughout the world.
The problem is when it crosses the line
into intimidation and harassment.
[Narrator] Partisan poll watchers
have been part of elections since at least the 1800s
when fraud was common
and voting could be a dangerous proposition.
Voting in the 19th century in the United States
took place openly.
Everyone could see who you were voting for,
what ballot you cast, and in that environment,
the polls became a really raucous place.
Violence and intimidation of the polls ranged
from verbal threats to outright gunplay, stabbings.
[Narrator] New laws ushered in reforms
to protect the voting process, like secret ballots
and official monitors.
Official poll watchers were appointed to go
to the polls and make sure that no fraud
and intimidation was taking place,
but there was also unofficial poll watching,
and unofficial poll watching developed very quickly
in the 19th century into often a form of voter suppression
and intimidation.
[Narrator] After the end of slavery,
some states passed laws
allowing citizens to challenge a person’s right to vote.
There’s one famous case where a group of people,
white intimidators came out to a predominantly Black area,
stood around the polls with guns and claimed
that they were Deputy U.S. Marshals there
to ensure the safety of the polls
and they threatened and scared off about 175 Black voters.
[Narrator] Some of the most notorious acts
of voter intimidation took place in the 1950s and 60s
as Black Americans fought for their voting rights.
Then in 1981, a political scandal broke out
when the Republican National Committee
sent a ballot security taskforce
to predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods
in New Jersey.
They posted warning signs like this one near the polls.
[Male Journalist 3] Allegations that minority voters
were intimidated by taskforce workers have surfaced
in several cities.
[Male Journalist 4] Republican poll watchers,
some of them off-duty policemen wearing guns and arm bands,
were also near the polls.
Do I think it’s intimidating?
From soup to nuts, I think it’s intimidating
and not what our democracy contemplated.
[Narrator] Angelo Genova was a lawyer for the Democrats.
They sued for voter intimidation and discrimination,
and a settlement required the Republican National Committee
to get court approval for future ballot security plans.
To me, its heart resided in a provision
that made it a violation to engage in any activities
that had the effect of deterring African-American voters
or Latino voters from participating in elections.
[Narrator] That settlement or consent decree,
was invoked again after other allegations
of Republicans intimidating or excluding minority voters.
It expired in 2017, making 2020
the first presidential election in 40 years
where the Republican National Committee is able
to conduct poll watching without court supervision.
The Republican National Committee recruiting
some 50,000 poll watchers across the country.
[Narrator] And Democrats are stepping up, too.
This year, both parties will send thousands
of officially trained and registered poll watchers
to monitor the election.
They play an important role
in keeping the voting process fair,
flagging any problems and reporting them to officials
or party lawyers.
And it’s illegal for them or anyone to intimidate voters.
Both parties say their official poll watchers
will follow the law, but with political tensions mounting,
You’re going to vote for Trump whether you like it or not!
You got no choice!
[Narrator] The rhetoric from the President
and his supporters has some experts concerned
about another scenario.
We need every able-bodied man, woman to join an army
for Trump’s election security operation.
What concerns me the most
when I hear the President make these statements
is vigilantes and others who might listen
to what the President says,
take matters into their own hands,
and the overall concern is that there’s going
to be either activities at the polling places
which could intimidate minority voters
or enough concern that that’s going to happen,
that it could have a deterrent effect.
[slightly intense piano music]
