New Mexico Republicans threaten Albuquerque residents: "Your neighbors will know" if Democrats win

The flier warns voters leaning Democrat that they will be outed because "voting is a matter of public record"

Published October 17, 2016 5:59PM (EDT)

 (Twitter/Ben Collins/Screen composite by Salon)
(Twitter/Ben Collins/Screen composite by Salon)

The New Mexico Republican Party mailed intimidating fliers to Albuquerque residents, warning those who vote Democrat that they will be outed because "voting is a matter of public record."

The menacing flier shows a paranoid woman peeking through the blinds of her window, ostensibly watching her no-good liberal neighbors who have the audacity to elect Democratic officials. On the flip side of the mailer, a bird's-eye view of a residential area has animated check marks hovering above certain homes, suggesting it will be known how people voted, and marked accordingly if they don't vote Republican.

While it's a matter of public record if you've voted, a secret ballot election ensures that no one will know how you've voted.

Voter intimidation has become a national issue this election as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has encouraged his supporters to monitor voting booths in a vigilante effort to prevent voting fraud.

"You’ve got to go out, and you’ve got to get your friends, and you’ve got to get everybody you know, and you gotta watch the polling booths,” Trump said at a Pennsylvania rally two weeks ago. “I hear too many bad stories, and we can’t lose an election because of — you know what I’m talking about."

An investigation by a law professor of municipal, primary, special and general elections from 2000 through 2014 revealed only 31 credible instances of voter fraud out of 1 billion ballots cast.

Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed concern that Trump's undemocratic language will normalize undemocratic behavior. These latest fliers from the New Mexico Republican Party demonstrate these concerns are valid.


By Taylor Link

MORE FROM Taylor Link


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Campaign Mail Donald Trump Elections 2016 Republican Party Voter Fraud Voter Intimidation