Advocacy groups accuse ‘NC Election Integrity Team’ of voter intimidation

More than two dozen advocacy groups accuse North Carolina’s Election Integrity Team of voter intimidation. There are yellow warning signs written in Spanish at some polling places across the state that serve as reminders of the law that says it is illegal for a non-citizen to vote in an election.

There is at least one sign posted in Mecklenburg County at the Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center. Ana Calles voted early at the polling station Wednesday. She says she has been a U.S. citizen for 15 years and is originally from El Salvador.

“I try to do good for all my family or friends and for anyone who we know wants to stay here,” Calles said. “If they see this, it’s going to scare them and that’s not good.”

The signs translate to: “Attention: If you are not a citizen of the United States of America, you cannot vote in the election. It’s illegal! It’s a crime. You could be deported. Don’t do it!

The signs are paid for by the North Carolina Election Integrity Team. Jim Womack is the leader of the group, he is also chairman of the Lee GOP. Womack says several legal teams have reviewed the text of the signs and said they are not considered voter intimidation. He says the signs are designed to help people.

“They don’t know because there’s no other inscription that tells them.” So we put these signs up to prevent non-citizens from committing a crime,” Womack said. “It’s like putting a speed limit sign on the highway. That’s what the speed limit is. So don’t exceed the speed limit.

Womack says some people may believe they are eligible to vote when they are not.

“We put this in place to protect non-citizen members of our community who, in some cases, are unwittingly led to believe that they can vote if they have a driver’s license and that is not the law .”

Advocacy groups say these signs could be misleading. The groups sent a letter to the North Carolina Board of Elections asking them to remove the signs.

“These signs are simply meant to intimidate and they serve no other purpose,” said Kathleen Roblez, senior voting rights advisor and litigation manager at Forward Justice. “We are always concerned about voter intimidation, and particularly those who speak monolingual Spanish and who may feel like they don’t know who to call.”

“We were getting calls and texts from naturalized citizens asking if they should vote. Naturalized citizens are therefore currently confused. They hear so much about this initiative that they’re like, you know, let me just make sure I actually have the right to vote,” said Iliana Santillan, executive director of El Pueblo.

The Meck Dems placed their own signs next to the yellow signs highlighting what they call voter intimidation. North Carolina law prohibits the removal of any political sign. Advocacy groups therefore hope that the electoral council will act quickly.

As for Calles, she says voting is a duty she would never miss.

“Tomorrow is not promised, I may not be here tomorrow. But I’m very happy to do it,” Calles said.

NCGOP is recruiting volunteers for the Election Integrity Team. In a statement, a spokesperson said, “We are proud of the work NCGOP and the RNC have done to ensure voters have confidence in the administration of elections in North Carolina. Independent efforts in this area are just that: independent and unrelated to our highly successful ballot protection program.