NAACP to Monitor Voter Intimidation at the Polls in Detroit

The rise of emboldened white militia groups in the state and a foiled plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer have raised concerns about safety on Election Day. As a result, members of the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP are urging residents to report any problems at the polls.

Detroit NAACP President Reverend Wendell Anthony says voter intimidation in the city will not be tolerated. “These threats of folks coming into places like Detroit, possibly brandishing armed weapons at polling places, is unacceptable,” says Anthony.

Anthony says the NAACP will have people at the polls monitoring for threats. 

The group has also set up a hotline to report intimidation.

Detroit NAACP General Counsel Chui Karega says poll watchers and voters shouldn’t hesitate to contact the group. “We have eyes and we have ears. And we will be at virtually every polling place in the city in this county in the state, making sure that if anything happens, anything goes wrong, anybody starts brandishing a weapon, we will be there,” says Karega.

Voter intimidation doesn’t have to be violent, according to Karega. He says harassment and threats to call police are coercive acts.

Michigan Election Officials Step In

Michigan government officials have also taken steps to prevent voter intimidation and coercion.

Earlier this month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged two Republican operatives with election intimidation over misleading robocalls intended to suppress the vote in the traditional Democratic stronghold of Detroit.

In an attempt to prevent voter intimidation at the polls, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson banned the open carry of guns at polling places on Election Day. That ban was subsequently struck down by a Court of Claims judge. AG Nessel announced almost immediately after the decision that her office would appeal to the Court of Appeals.

Regardless of threats of violence and voter suppression, Reverend Wendell Anthony is confident that Detroiters will not be swayed from going to the polls. “We will not give up the right for our vote. These obstacles make us even more determined to take our soles to the polls and vote like our lives depend upon it. Because quite frankly, they do.”