Both Democrats and Republicans are preparing for war by sending hundreds, even thousands of troops to the frontline: a legal war that is.
In Pennsylvania, the Republican Party has opened a “recount account� and set aside $500,000 to pay lawyers who will answer telephones on Election Day and monitor polls to see whether officials demand proper voters’ identification. In Maryland, lawyers representing candidates for senator and governor from both parties met recently and swapped cellphone numbers and e-mail addresses to smooth out the logistics of potential litigation.
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On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of the 7,000 lawyers who are working on the election for the Democratic National Committee will board planes for Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio and 13 other states.Their task is to reinforce local teams where party officials say they there is the greatest potential for long lines, voter intimidation or confusion at the polls and where they may need to file court petitions to keep polls open late.
“We’re not going to make the mistake we did last time, which was to wait until after the election for litigation,� said Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.
That party has spent $250,000 in legal fees on suits over new electronic voting machines and a voter identification law. The Republican National Committee is shipping out 150 lawyers on Monday to help hundreds of local lawyers in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee and other states answering phones and working at polling stations policing against voter fraud.
However, this is not just a war between the two major American political parties: others join the fight as well:
In its largest mobilization ever for a non-presidential election, the Justice Department will dispatch about 800 lawyers to potentially troubled polling locations in 65 cities in 20 states to ensure voting rights laws are obeyed.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the N.A.A.C.P. and the People for the American Way Foundation will jointly have 2,000 lawyers fanning out across 20 states.
In short: good times for American lawyers.
Seriously though, it is sad that it has come to this: that this is necessary. But if this is what it takes to ensure that the elections will be honest, then… it has to be done.
One can only imagine what the coming days will look like for the lawyers and the ones who organize this legal battle. Thousands of angry lawyers… that’s sure to cause thousands of other people a terrible headache…
