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Democrats say they plan to recruit and train at least 10,000 Democracy Protectors. That's what they're calling volunteers who will be at polling places across the country during the midterms. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: The Association of State Democratic Committees calls this the New Battlefield Project and says the scale is unprecedented. Jane Kleeb is the group's president and also vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She says the job of volunteers is to deter any attempt to scare voters.
JANE KLEEB: If you see people outside of the polling locations with military-looking equipment with masks on, that's intimidating to a voter. So we're asking Democracy Protector volunteers to wear all blue. They're going to be trained in how to de-escalate situations, and they're going to be a friendly, happy face.
LANGFITT: Sending monitors to polling places is nothing new. Congress and the Department of Justice deploy observers, as do nonpartisan groups such as The Carter Center and the League of Women Voters. But Kleeb says American elections face especially grave threats this fall. She cited President Trump's attempt to restrict mail-in voting, which the Supreme Court rejected Monday, as well as calls by Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon to send ICE agents to the polls. Kleeb says volunteers will all use cellphones to document any signs of intimidation.
KLEEB: I think Americans all across the country saw how powerful a cellphone can be during the ICE raids in Minnesota.
LANGFITT: In a statement, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis responded that the only thing Americans should fear is Democrats who refuse to support election security measures, such as requiring voter ID.
Federal law generally forbids the deployment of armed federal agents at polls. As Election Day approaches, the Trump administration continues to try to take more control over voting, which is the prerogative of the states. For instance, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has threatened criminal charges against state election officials if they don't provide their voter rolls to the federal government.
Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Washington.
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