Officials from both parties expressed concerns over Republican door-knockers intimidating voters by questioning them about their ballots, Reuters reports.
Trump supporters have adopted door-to-door canvassing as a way to try to find evidence to back up the former president’s baseless claim about election-rigging.
Pro-Trump canvassers in at least 19 states are using their findings to press officials to clean up what they call inaccurate voter registration lists.
In Michigan, they plan to use their list of alleged irregularities to challenge voters’ eligibility on Election Day.
Reuters identified at least 23 statewide and local efforts where canvassers “may have crossed the line into intimidation,” election officials told the outlet.
“Some carried weapons, wore badges, asked people who they'd voted for or demanded personal information,” Reuters reported.
Shasta County:
Republican door-knockers in California’s Shasta County have worn reflective orange vests and official-looking badges saying “Voter Taskforce.”
Multiple voters told Reuters they mistook them for government officials.
The canvassers grilled residents on their voting history and who lived with them, in one case interrogating a couple about the location of their adult daughter.
Numerous residents have contacted local officials to ask whether the canvassers were sent by the country and reported activity that made them suspicious.
Officials worry:
“I was very concerned that it would have a chilling effect on people's willingness to be registered to vote, and that's not OK,” Cathy Darling Allen, the county clerk in Shasta County, told Reuters.
“I don't think the canvassers have the intention of spreading intimidation, but their actions can be construed as intimidating by some of the folks out there,” added Dan Loomis, the clerk in Oregon’s Douglas County.
