The local Republican Party in Tarrant County, Texas – which includes Fort Worth and is state’s third most populous county – is being accused of egging on discriminatory voting practices with an email it sent calling for “poll watchers” for “Democrat-controlled polling locations.” The email said the GOP wants workers “to make sure OUR VOTER ID LAW IS FOLLOWED,” without noting that the Texas voter ID law was recently softened after an appeals court ruled it had racially discriminatory effects.
A voting rights advocacy group has sent a letter of complaint about the email to the Department of Justice.
The email from the Tarrant County Republican Party was titled “ALERT***EMERGENCY VOTER FRAUD INFORMATION
INSIDE***ALERT**” according to the complaint letter, and said that the party is “looking for Poll Watchers for Early Voting location sites and Election Day polling locations.”“We especially need poll watchers in Democrat-controlled polling locations. Voter ID is still required in Texas,” the email, which is also available online, said. “We want to make sure OUR VOTER ID LAW IS FOLLOWED.”