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50 U. Louisville L. Rev. 253 (2011-2012)
Where the Wild Things Are: The Polling Place, Voter Intimidation, and the First Amendment

handle is hein.journals/branlaj50 and id is 257 raw text is: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: THE POLLING PLACE, VOTER INTIMIDATION, AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT± James J. Woodruff lf No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined. I. INTRODUCTION During each election cycle, the cries of voter intimidation rise from the 2 mouths and pens of partisans. However, for all the noise that is generated, there are remarkably few successful voter intimidation prosecutions. A better method of deterring voter intimidation must be promulgated as the current laws languish and draw dust from infrequent use. This Article explores the use of current regulations to control voter intimidation at the polling place on Election Day. Part II of this Article examines the definition of voter intimidation through the federal laws currently regulating such conduct. Part III outlines the various groups that regularly appear on Election Day and how they engage in conduct that may be viewed by some as voter intimidation. Part IV reviews the prosecution of voter intimidation since 2000, and Part V examines possible methods for reducing voter intimidation at the polling place. ' My apologies to Maurice Sendak. MAURICE SENDAK, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (25th anniversary ed., Harper Collins 1988). * Associate Professor of Lawyering Process, Florida Coastal School of Law. South Texas College of Law, J.D.; Texas A&M University, B.S. I would like to thank Richard Hasen for his time and feedback. I would also like to thank Eugene Volokh for his time and guidance on First Amendment law. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 17 (1964). 2 The Clinton campaign raised allegations of voter intimidation by the Obama campaign at the 2008 Democratic Primary in Texas. See generally Film: We Will Not Be Silenced: A Documentary About Voter Fraud in the Democratic Presidential Primary 2008 (Gigi Gaston 2008), available at http://www.wewillnotbesilenced2008.com (examining the practices at the primary voting and caucusing sites in the Democratic Primary in Texas during the 2008 presidential election). In the 2010 General Election, the friends of Sharon Angle filed a voter intimidation complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that Harrah's Entertainment Inc. was intimidating its employees to vote. See Letter from Cleta Mitchell to the Honorable Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Att'y Gen., Civ. Rts. Div., U.S. Dep't of Justice, and the Honorable Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Att'y for Nev. (Nov. 2, 2010) (on file with author). The groups reviewed will be limited to those formed or having appeared since 2000. 253

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