A formal complaint containing six affidavits, several photographs, and explicit details of union-related activity at three southern Nevada polling locations has been filed with the Secretary of State and the Election Integrity Task Force by GOP poll watchers and attorneys in Clark County.
The complaint was promised earlier this week by Cleta Mitchell, general counsel for Friends of Sharron Angle, who said she planned to take the Nevada Secretary of State up on his suggestion that formal, detailed complaints should be submitted to his office regarding questionable activity in and around polling places.
Secretary of State Ross Miller had said on Wednesday that “rumor and innuendo” were not a good basis for formal investigations by his office, prompting a strong response from Mitchell.
The 31-page complaint cites numerous state and federal statutes it says are being violated by union behavior. The complaint specifically asks the Secretary of State’s office to investigate the claims made in the affidavits, disseminate public warnings through elections officials, impose civil penalties for violations, and refer violations to state and federal authorities for prosecution.
Affidavit-supported descriptions of union activity around polling places may, the complaint alleges, prevent union members from casting their ballots “without fear of reprisals, recriminations, job loss, or other adverse actions resulting from union bosses’ improper and heavy-handed infringement upon their members’ fundamental voting rights”.
The behavior described in the six affidavits attached in the complaint is characterized as appearing to “be intended to intimidate and coerce their members into casting votes in this Election under the close scrutiny and supervision of union personnel”.
According to the complaint, that behavior includes:
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personally escorting members from each bus directly to each polling location’s entrance, in order to prevent members from going somewhere else instead
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surrounding the perimeter of polling places to conspicuously monitor members’ activities from a variety of angles and prevent members from leaving
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hovering, often in an intimidating or menacing manner, immediately adjacent to the boundaries of polling locations, as members attempt to cast their votes
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scrutinizing, staring at, and monitoring the activities of members within the polling locations
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attempting to induce members to cast ballots by offering lunch to any member who is bused to an early voting location
Battle ‘10 will continue to provide details on this story as they are available.
Note: This post has been corrected and updated from the original.