CLEVELAND – A federal judge in Cleveland is slated to hear a complaint from Ohio Democrats that seeks to stop Republicans and supporters of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump from engaging in voter intimidation.
The hearing to review the civil complaint is scheduled for Friday morning. Democratic Party organizations in three other states filed similar actions beginning Sunday.
Polls are showing Trump is closing in on Hillary Clinton in key battleground states.
Both candidates will be in Ohio today — Trump in Wilmington and Clinton with rapper Jay Z in Cleveland.
Clinton’s former primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, in the Buckeye State yesterday.
A Columbus-based attorney for Trump’s campaign said in a Wednesday court filing that the Democrats’ fears of voter intimidation are based on “rhetoric, not evidence.” The filing says the Trump campaign will follow election laws on Nov. 8 and no intimidation has been reported during early voting that began last month.
In their complaint, Democrats accuse Trump’s campaign and political operative Roger Stone of conspiring to prevent minorities from voting. Republicans on Thursday fought back against charges of wrongdoing before judges in Nevada and Arizona. Arguments will be heard on Friday in Ohio and in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Ohioans have been voting for three weeks and a spokesman for Secretary of State Jon Husted says there have been no reports of issues.
Ohio allows election observers appointed by political parties or candidates, but Joshua Eck says they are carefully screened and monitored.
“You actually have to take an oath of office as an observer on Election Day before you start serving,” he said. “And then your role is strictly to be there to observe, you’re not there to interfere, you’re not there to question voters, you’re not there to question someone’s eligibility to vote, you’re there to observe.”
The nearly identical legal challenges seek court orders intended to block volunteer GOP poll watchers from harassing people headed to the polls. The Republicans have called them a publicity stunt.