Texas AG threatens to arest election monitors

[General Zod]

Classy.

The Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott, has threatened to arrest international election monitors invited by liberal groups to observe the conduct of next month's presidential vote in states accused of attempting to disenfranchise minorities.

Abbott has written to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe warning that its monitors have no right to monitor the vote even though they have observed previous US elections.

"The OSCE's representatives are not authorized by Texas law to enter a polling place. It may be a criminal offence for OSCE's representatives to maintain a presence within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance," he said. "Failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE's representatives to criminal prosecution for violating state law."

The OSCE is sending 44 observers to voting stations across the US at the request of various groups, including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, because of "an unprecedented and sophisticated level of coordination to restrict voting rights in our nation". These include attempts by several states, including Texas, to introduce voter identification laws and other measures blocked by federal courts which have ruled they were motivated by racial discrimination.

In his letter, Abbott glossed over the recent judgements striking down the Texas identification law and pointed to a supreme court ruling in a case involving another state.

"The OSCE may be entitled to its opinions about voter ID laws, but your opinion is legally irrelevant in the United States, where the supreme court has already determined that voter ID laws are constitutional," Abbott said.

The US routinely sends poll watchers to elections in foreign countries, particularly those where there are concerns about the fairness of the vote.
In television interviews, Abbott denounced the OSCE as an interfering foreign body even though the US is a founding member and it was invited by President George Bush's administration to monitor the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections in the US.

"If OSCE members want to learn more about our election processes so they can improve their own democratic systems, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the measures Texas has implemented to protect the integrity of elections," Abbott wrote. "However, groups and individuals from outside the United States are not allowed to influence or interfere with the election process in Texas. This state has robust election laws that were carefully crafted to protect the integrity of our election system. All persons – including persons connected with OSCE – are required to comply with these laws."

The OSCE responded later on Wednesday in a letter to the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, calling Abbott's threat "unacceptable" and noting that the organisation's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has an agreement with the US permitting it to monitor elections.

"The United States, like all countries in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections," it said. "The threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is unacceptable."

A Florida congressman running for the Senate, Connie Mack, also waded into the debate, saying that reports the United Nations wants to send election monitors was an outrage. The OSCE was founded under the UN charter.

"The very idea that the United Nations - the world body dedicated to diminishing America's role in the world - would be allowed, if not encouraged, to install foreigners sympathetic to the likes of Castro, Chavez, Ahmadinejad, and Putin to oversee our elections is nothing short of disgusting," he told the Orlando Sentinal.

"The United Nations should be kicked off of American soil once and for all. And the American people should demand that the United Nations be stopped from 'monitoring' American elections. The only ones who should ever oversee American elections are Americans."

[Mr Bean]

I applaud the election monitors, I urge them to arrive and monitor US elections. We send election monitors, election monitors should be sent to us. And if the Texas AG tries to arrest them the White House can point to the diplomatic immunity they were granted. Then take the AG to task for causing an international incident.

In particlar I hope they send us the monitors who work places like Egypt or Georgia, the people who risk their lives to do their job. Nothing would send a better message than the AG arresting some of the inspectors I've heard about who have great life stories growing up in war torn areas, making a life for themselves, working at the UN and risking their lives as inspectors. And here comes this pissant AG who wants to arrest them... for watching our elections.

[SirNitram]

This certainly proves innocence, threatening those watching. Apparently, it was FINE 2002-2010. But now it is an OUTRAGE of the HIGHEST CALIBER.

Just a closing thought. The US throws them out, they give open precedent to every tinpot dictator to do the same.

[Dalton]

I wonder if he's also threatened to arrest the "True the Vote" election monitors that the Teapublicans are sending to "protect" against voter fraud.

[ryacko]

Good work Texas. You just proven to me that the unconstitutional portion of the civil rights act, pertaining to elections in areas with a history of racism, should be upheld.

they give open precedent to every tinpot dictator to do the same.

I thought dictators didn't care about international legal precedent.

[SirNitram]

Good work Texas. You just proven to me that the unconstitutional portion of the civil rights act, pertaining to elections in areas with a history of racism, should be upheld.

they give open precedent to every tinpot dictator to do the same.

I thought dictators didn't care about international legal precedent.

Not usually, but would you want them being able to say 'SEEEEEEE? The US did it! It's totally okay!'

[Welf]

That probably will give job creators the confidence they need? Being rich and knowing there won't be any outside control on elections would give me a lot of confidence that the next governments will represent my interests. And only mine.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Send American citizens for the monitors.

[SirNitram]

Send American citizens for the monitors.

How about just do as the State Dept would say and don't try this nonsense on people protected by law?

[PeZook]

They actually have diplomatic immunity? I didn't know about that.

[Mr Bean]

They actually have diplomatic immunity? I didn't know about that.

UN officials are typically given diplomatic immunity, election inspectors can not afford to be impeded by local laws they are there to watch the process of democracy itself after all.

[PeZook]

They actually have diplomatic immunity? I didn't know about that.

UN officials are typically given diplomatic immunity, election inspectors can not afford to be impeded by local laws they are there to watch the process of democracy itself after all.

Except these particular observers are not actually UN officials, hence my question.

Of course, they might still be granted diplomatic immunity, but that's a State Department prerogative

[CJvR]

Given the hysterical reaction it would seem as if the Texas authorities have something to hide...

[General Zod]

Send American citizens for the monitors.

Who cares about damaged credibility when we ask other countries to send our own election monitors to them anyway?

[Darksider]

Given the hysterical reaction it would seem as if the Texas authorities have something to hide...

It could just be retarded knee-jerk nationalism. Texas is notoriously xenophobic and insular even to people from other U.S. states. It's probably just them not wanting any "furriners" snooping around in what they consider to be a Texan affair.

[Dalton]

Given the hysterical reaction it would seem as if the Texas authorities have something to hide...

It doesn't even matter. Texas is pretty solid red.

[gigabytelord]

It doesn't even matter. Texas is pretty solid red.

This isn't completely true, I'm from Texas and I am very much a democrat thank you very much.

It could just be retarded knee-jerk nationalism. Texas is notoriously xenophobic and insular even to people from other U.S. states. It's probably just them not wanting any "furriners" snooping around in what they consider to be a Texan affair.

Sounds very Texan to me, stupendously retarded and everything.

One thing I realized when I first moved up here to the Chicago Land area (besides the extreme culture shock) is just how much of a superiority complex Texans in general have when it comes to other Americans, obviously I realized this from my own actions.

I personally used to be found of the saying "those damn Yankees" and I even remember yelling at a Brit until he apologized for calling me a "Yank", because I ain't a damn Yankee... Now I realize just how stupid the whole thing is.

[Ahriman238]

One thing I realized when I first moved up here to the Chicago Land area (besides the extreme culture shock) is just how much of a superiority complex Texans in general have when it comes to other Americans, obviously I realized this from my own actions.

I personally used to be found of the saying "those damn Yankees" and I even remember yelling at a Brit until he apologized for calling me a "Yank", because I ain't a damn Yankee... Now I realize just how stupid the whole thing is.

What is a Yankee? To a Texan, everyone Murcan that isn't them. In the South, everyone in the North. In the North, everyone in New England. In New England, everyone in Vermont and the baseball team from NYC.

Can't say I really know any Texans. A couple people on the board, and a couple of assholes I knew in college. But they were always ashholes first and foremost, and Texan only by their accents. I like to hope that it isn't an entire state of Dubyas and Perrys, but it's not like I frequently see evidence one way or another.


I wonder, does anyone know if there's some sort of generally-accessible list of countries that do and have submitted to observation of elections? It'd be kind of funny to send this man a list of all the third world dictators who respect freedom and democracy more than he does.

[Dalton]

It doesn't even matter. Texas is pretty solid red.

This isn't completely true, I'm from Texas and I am very much a democrat thank you very much.

I meant its a solid Romney win. That's undeniable.

[Edward Yee]

It could just be retarded knee-jerk nationalism.

There is the whole "Republic of Texas" thing.

[Imperial528]

What is a Yankee? To a Texan, everyone Murcan that isn't them. In the South, everyone in the North. In the North, everyone in New England. In New England, everyone in Vermont and the baseball team from NYC.

Just to add to the weirdness, there are people in Mass who identify as Yankees and complain about the NY Yankees being called the Yankees when they're not even Yankees. Of course, the NY Yankees are still the Damn Yankees™.