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Greg Abbott Attorney General in Texas
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m...@facts.only.now
Oct 25, 2012, 5:57:44 PM10/25/12
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Greg Abbott Attorney General in Texas, Threatens To Arrest
U.N. Elections Observers.
Greg Abbott, the Republican Attorney General of Texas, issued a stern
warning this week to members of a United Nations-affiliated delegation
expected to be on hand to monitor voting at polling places around the
country on Election Day.
In a letter to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, a body created by U.N. charter and responsible for helping to
ensure the integrity of elections, among other tasks, Abbott warned
the diplomatic poll-watchers that their involvement in U.S. elections
could have strong legal repercussions.
"It may be a criminal offense for OSCE's representatives to maintain a
presence within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance," he writes.
"Failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE's
representatives to criminal prosecution for violating state law." Such
a restriction makes election monitoring highly difficult.
The OSCE announced earlier this month that it would send 44 observers
to polling places around the country on Election Day in order to
monitor possible disputes that could arise in the voting process. The
move came in response to a petition from liberal-leaning voting rights
groups, including the NAACP and ACLU, that suggested the OSCE's
presence could help combat what they fear will be a concerted effort
to suppress votes from supporters of President Barack Obama.
Concerns among Democrats have mounted in the wake of reports that
right-leaning groups, such as the Tea Party-aligned True The Vote, had
plans to dispatch armies of poll-watchers seeking to root out invalid
votes. Opponents warn that the volunteer "poll challengers" will
engage in intimidation of legitimate minority voters who tend to vote
Democratic.
In his letter, Abbott takes issue with the OSCE's supposed opposition
to voter ID laws, which won't be in place in Texas after being
rejected by a federal court, and adds that the group's efforts at
polling places are neither needed nor acceptable.
"If OSCE members want to learn more about our election processes so
they can improve their own democratic systems, we welcome the
opportunity to discuss the measures Texas has implemented to protect
the integrity of elections," he writes. "However, groups and
individuals from outside the United States are not allowed to
influence or interfere with the election process in Texas. This State
has robust election laws that were carefully crafted to protect the
integrity of our election system. All persons -- including persons
connected with OSCE -- are required to comply with these laws."
Abbott's opposition is consistent with a growing trend of conservative
distrust toward the United Nations and its affiliates. On Tuesday,
Florida GOP Senate candidate Connie Mack said that the U.N. should be
defunded and "kicked off of American soil." In a statement, Mack
appeared to suggest that the broader U.N., and therefore presumably
the OSCE as well, was driven by nefarious motives.
“The very idea that the United Nations -- the world body dedicated to
diminishing America’s role in the world -- would be allowed, if not
encouraged, to install foreigners sympathetic to the likes of Castro,
Chavez, Ahmadinejad and Putin to oversee our elections is nothing
short of disgusting," he said.
UPDATE: 3:10 p.m. EST -- Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, director of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
responded in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying
that Abbott's threat put the state of Texas at odds with an agreement
between the body and state authorities.
“The threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is
unacceptable,” Lenarcic said. “The United States, like all countries
in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe
its elections.”
Lenarcic took issue with insinuations that officials in the group
would meddle with elections, reiterating that they were bound by
national laws and regulations, as well as their own strict code of
conduct.
“Our observers are required to remain strictly impartial and not to
intervene in the voting process in any way,” Lenarcic said. “They are
in the United States to observe these elections, not to interfere in
them.”
A release relaying Lenarcic's comments pointed out that the OSCE has
observed five previous U.S. elections since 2002, all without
incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vNpXJxpu48&feature=player_embedded
U.N. Elections Observers.
Greg Abbott, the Republican Attorney General of Texas, issued a stern
warning this week to members of a United Nations-affiliated delegation
expected to be on hand to monitor voting at polling places around the
country on Election Day.
In a letter to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, a body created by U.N. charter and responsible for helping to
ensure the integrity of elections, among other tasks, Abbott warned
the diplomatic poll-watchers that their involvement in U.S. elections
could have strong legal repercussions.
"It may be a criminal offense for OSCE's representatives to maintain a
presence within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance," he writes.
"Failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE's
representatives to criminal prosecution for violating state law." Such
a restriction makes election monitoring highly difficult.
The OSCE announced earlier this month that it would send 44 observers
to polling places around the country on Election Day in order to
monitor possible disputes that could arise in the voting process. The
move came in response to a petition from liberal-leaning voting rights
groups, including the NAACP and ACLU, that suggested the OSCE's
presence could help combat what they fear will be a concerted effort
to suppress votes from supporters of President Barack Obama.
Concerns among Democrats have mounted in the wake of reports that
right-leaning groups, such as the Tea Party-aligned True The Vote, had
plans to dispatch armies of poll-watchers seeking to root out invalid
votes. Opponents warn that the volunteer "poll challengers" will
engage in intimidation of legitimate minority voters who tend to vote
Democratic.
In his letter, Abbott takes issue with the OSCE's supposed opposition
to voter ID laws, which won't be in place in Texas after being
rejected by a federal court, and adds that the group's efforts at
polling places are neither needed nor acceptable.
"If OSCE members want to learn more about our election processes so
they can improve their own democratic systems, we welcome the
opportunity to discuss the measures Texas has implemented to protect
the integrity of elections," he writes. "However, groups and
individuals from outside the United States are not allowed to
influence or interfere with the election process in Texas. This State
has robust election laws that were carefully crafted to protect the
integrity of our election system. All persons -- including persons
connected with OSCE -- are required to comply with these laws."
Abbott's opposition is consistent with a growing trend of conservative
distrust toward the United Nations and its affiliates. On Tuesday,
Florida GOP Senate candidate Connie Mack said that the U.N. should be
defunded and "kicked off of American soil." In a statement, Mack
appeared to suggest that the broader U.N., and therefore presumably
the OSCE as well, was driven by nefarious motives.
“The very idea that the United Nations -- the world body dedicated to
diminishing America’s role in the world -- would be allowed, if not
encouraged, to install foreigners sympathetic to the likes of Castro,
Chavez, Ahmadinejad and Putin to oversee our elections is nothing
short of disgusting," he said.
UPDATE: 3:10 p.m. EST -- Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, director of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
responded in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying
that Abbott's threat put the state of Texas at odds with an agreement
between the body and state authorities.
“The threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is
unacceptable,” Lenarcic said. “The United States, like all countries
in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe
its elections.”
Lenarcic took issue with insinuations that officials in the group
would meddle with elections, reiterating that they were bound by
national laws and regulations, as well as their own strict code of
conduct.
“Our observers are required to remain strictly impartial and not to
intervene in the voting process in any way,” Lenarcic said. “They are
in the United States to observe these elections, not to interfere in
them.”
A release relaying Lenarcic's comments pointed out that the OSCE has
observed five previous U.S. elections since 2002, all without
incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vNpXJxpu48&feature=player_embedded
Mark Hill
Oct 25, 2012, 6:19:07 PM10/25/12
to
On 10/25/2012 3:57 PM, m...@facts.only.now wrote:
> Greg Abbott Attorney General in Texas, Threatens To Arrest
> U.N. Elections Observers.
>
> Greg Abbott, the Republican Attorney General of Texas, issued a stern
> warning this week to members of a United Nations-affiliated delegation
GOD BLESS THE MAN!
> Greg Abbott Attorney General in Texas, Threatens To Arrest
> U.N. Elections Observers.
>
> Greg Abbott, the Republican Attorney General of Texas, issued a stern
> warning this week to members of a United Nations-affiliated delegation
If anyone was going to care about keeping America a sovereign state and
not a UN pawn it would be a Texan!
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