POLL POLICE

Pennsylvania GOP Sues Over Poll Watcher Law

GOPers want to monitor any election site.

Pennsylvania Republicans have filed a federal lawsuit to overturn a state law on poll monitors, which they say violates poll watcher's free speech rights. Pennsylvania law allows residents to monitor election sites in the county where they are registered to vote. But the Pennsylvania Republican Party says the law infringes on the free speech rights of some residents whose electoral district spans more than one county. As the election nears, and Donald Trump continues to trail Hillary Clinton in the polls, the Republican candidate has increasingly warned of voter fraud, specifically in Democrat-leaning districts like Philadelphia. Overturning Pennsylvania's poll monitoring regulations could allow people from outside Philadelphia to monitor election sites in the city, a tactic some worry will encourage voter intimidation.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf expressed these concerns when presented with a June bill that would effectively overturn the state's poll monitor regulations. "The governor opposes the bill because he believes it will lead to voter intimidation," Wolf's press secretary Jeff Sheridan told the Associated Press in a statement. "Through existing law, there are already stringent controls in place to ensure the integrity of elections in Pennsylvania."