The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Maine Secretary of State’s Elections Division, the Maine Attorney General’s Office, and Lewiston officials to investigate complaints it has received of surveillance and harassment targeting visibly Muslim Maine voters during early voting at Lewiston City Hall.
In a letter sent yesterday, CAIR privately reported the details of the allegations to Maine’s Secretary of State and is awaiting a response. Others have announced similar incidents of harassment.
[NOTE: CAIR plans to host a virtual “Know Your Rights at the Polls” presentation on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. ET. The presentation will explain how to identify, document, and report voter intimidation. REGISTER HERE.]
In a statement, CAIR Community Advocacy Director Nicole Fauster said:
“A camera can document democracy, but it can also be weaponized to intimidate voters. When provocateurs single out visibly-Muslim voters, put cameras inches from their faces, follow them through voting lines and out of City Hall, and cause eligible voters to leave without casting a ballot, authorities must act. No voter should face such intimidation. We urge Maine officials to investigate immediately, and we call on community members to stand calmly with their neighbors, alert election officials and make clear that every eligible voter will be protected, not bullied, from the door to the ballot box.
“We respect freedom of the press and the right to report on matters of public concern. Those protections do not confer a right to obstruct, harass or intimidate voters.”
She noted that federal law prohibits intimidating, threatening, coercing or attempting to intimidate, threaten or coerce a person for the purpose of interfering with that person’s right to vote. Maine law also regulates photography and recording at voting locations, prohibits interference with voters and authorizes the removal of individuals who interfere with voters’ free passage.
BACKGROUNDER:
Somali and Iraqi community members have reported that individuals described by witnesses as right-wing provocateurs have stationed themselves at the entrance to City Hall, filmed voters as they enter and leave, followed people as they wait in line, placed cameras within inches of people’s faces, and continued following individuals outside the building.
Reported conduct also includes getting in voters’ faces, cornering community members, physically blocking their movement, and confronting visibly Muslim individuals with inflammatory questions – including asking whether they “denounce violence.” Community members also report that security personnel have not intervened when they brought this conduct to their attention. At least one eligible voter reportedly left City Hall without voting after repeatedly asking an individual to stop following and filming him.
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