A Halloween History of Republican Dirty Tricks

The Associated Press reported this weekend about yet another effort to confuse, deceive and intimidate African-American voters with a FAKE letter from the NAACP.

A bogus letter circulating in South Carolina, purporting to be from the NAACP, threatens the arrest of voters who have outstanding parking tickets or failed to pay child support. The NAACP said Friday the letter is a scare tactic and called for an investigation.

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The Rev. Joe Darby, vice president of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he received the one-page letter - which had a Columbia postmark with no return address - at his Charleston home. The letter also says voters must have a credit check, provide two forms of photo identification, a Social Security card, a voter registration card and a handwriting sample.

Of course, voter intimidation has a long and sordid history in South Carolina. As the following reports suggest:

Democrats in some areas of South Carolina would depend on the commerical taxi companies to supply transportation, but according to a GOP activist, "We'd tie them up by using our phone banks. We'd keep calling the taxicabs on the phone and get them to go to bogus addresses."

In Dillon County, several days before election day, state Rep. Son Kinon, a white Republican, mailed out more than 3,000 brochures to black voters. On the outside, the brochure read, "You have always been my friend, so don't chance GOING TO JAIL on Election Day!"... "SLED agents, FBI agents, people from the Justice Department and undercover agents will be in Dillon County working this election. People who you think are your friends, and even your neighbors, could be the very ones that turn you in. THIS ELECTION IS NOT WORTH GOING TO JAIL!!!!!!"

In 2002, Republicans in Jasper County were caught videotaping voters outside of the absentee voting precinct at the Jasper County Voter Registration Board. Operatives were filming voters as they entered the Voter Registration office, and filmed their license plates in the parking lot. Republicans had to be threatened with a court order before the videotaping ceased.

In the 2004 Greenville County Council Race, Republican Councilman Steve Selby's attorney Samuel Harms said on Tuesday that campaign observers will be at the precincts to "encourage poll workers to enforce the law." "If Democrats attempt to vote in the election, we're going to call upon the solicitor to start charging and indicting Democrats - it's a crime. If a couple Democrats go to jail for voting illegally, I'm not going to shed a tear."

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