UNITED STATES: In September, canvassers in Shasta County, California, wore luminous orange jackets and badges that stated “Voter Taskforce.” Meanwhile, four locals claimed they were mistaken for government representatives. The canvassers’ typical tasks before a significant election, however—explaining where to vote and endorsing a candidate—were not performed by the door-knockers.
Instead, according to the county’s senior election official, they interrogated citizens about their voting histories and the people who resided in their homes, asking probing questions that could have been illegal under state rules against harassment and intimidation.
They questioned a couple at one home about the whereabouts of their adult daughter. Another had a list of names of people who were registered to vote and a question about whether they were still residing there.
The cases demonstrate how former U.S. citizens have undertaken door-to-door canvassing, a once common practice in American elections.
Advocates of President Donald Trump have been attempting to disenfranchise people by spreading misinformation about voter registration records. Additionally, they are also trying to prove his unfounded accusations of voting fraud since the 2020 election.
Pro-Trump canvassers are exploiting their results in at least 19 states to demand that election authorities update voter registration records they believe to be erroneous because doing so could facilitate unauthorized voting.
They intend to use their list of alleged abnormalities to challenge votes in the November 8 election in at least one state, Michigan.
Shasta County clerk Cathy Darling Allen said she first became aware of issues in the middle of September when three individuals complained about canvassers on Facebook. Shasta County is a rough, hilly area with more than 180,000 residents, and pro-Trump Republicans control the local government.
All of the people Allen spoke with wanted to know if the county had dispatched the canvassers. Allen retorted that the guests were unrelated to her office.
According to a Redding Authorities Department report, a fourth person called the police a week later after canvassers came to his door and wanted voting information, making him suspicious.
Activists in Michigan intend to take it further. According to the Election Integrity Force, it intends to run election challenges in each of the 83 counties in the state to voice concerns about voters they believe are not legitimately registered to vote.
The director of the group, Sandy Kiesel, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Party nomination for the state assembly in August, stated that those election challengers would be armed with names of ineligible voters drawn from their canvas and voter roll results.
According to state law, an election challenger has the right to object to a voter if they have grounds to believe that person doesn’t reside there or is otherwise ineligible to vote. The on-site election official then resolves the complaint.
Also Read: U.S. Senate Democrats Point to a Lack of Election Workers before the Midterm Elections
