the republican national committee was not found in contempt of a 34-year-old agreement that barred the party from taking part in any efforts to combat alleged voter fraud at the polls. | getty democrats wanted judge to find gop is illegally coordinating with trump. by matt friedman 11/05/16 04:13 pm edt the democratic national committee has failed to show that the gop is illegally coordinating with donald trump<u+2019>s campaign on <u+201c>ballot security<u+201d> efforts, a judge ruled saturday. democrats had wanted u.s. district court judge michael vasquez to find the republican national committee in contempt of a 34-year-old agreement that barred the party from taking part in any efforts to combat alleged voter fraud at the polls. story continued below democrats claimed that statements from rnc chairman reince priebus, vice presidential candidate mike pence and trump campaign manager kellyanne conway all indicated that the rnc and trump campaign were in cahoots, after trump called for his supporters to travel to <u+201c>certain areas" to monitor the polling places. the rnc said it has taken pains to abide by the agreement and to make sure its members do, and that the statements from conway and pence were ill-informed. <u+201c>the discovery thus far produced by the rnc reflects that it is not working with the trump campaign on ballot security measures,<u+201d> vasquez wrote. the 1982 consent decree arose from alleged voter intimidation by republicans in new jersey<u+2019>s 1981 gubernatorial election. republicans showed up at urban polling places, some of whom were armed off-duty law enforcement officers that wore armbands and challenged voters. the display was blamed for suppressing the black vote, allowing republican tom kean to squeak out an extremely narrow victory over democrat jim florio. the agreement is set to expire next year but could be extended until 2024 if republicans are found to have violated it. though vasquez refused to take any immediate action against the rnc, he said the case will continue after the election, allowing both sides more time to dig up more information. democrats noted that both pence and conway made statements indicating that the trump campaign and rnc were working together on ballot security efforts, though both later recanted. they argued that the rnc chairman had indicated he discussed alleged voter fraud with trump and that two rnc members who were state party chairs had supported or initiated anti-voter fraud campaigns. democrats also cited poll watching volunteers in nevada who claimed to be working for the rnc. <u+201c>in light of the evidence currently in the record, the court finds that the dnc has not demonstrated a likelihood of success concerning action taken by the rnc,<u+201d> vasquez wrote. <u+201c>the poll watching activity in nevada is not as clear <u+2026> at best, the dnc shows a possibility, not a probability, that the poll observers<u+2019> activities were related to voter fraud.<u+201d> democrats said they look forward to pressing on with the case. "i am disappointed in the court<u+2019>s decision denying immediate relief on the eve of this election,<u+201d> dnc attorney angelo genova said in a statement, <u+201c>but find comfort in knowing that meaningful discovery may be pursued afterward to establish that this 30-plus year consent order should remain viable in the fight against rnc inspired voter suppression efforts." a spokeswoman for the rnc could not immediately be reached for comment. in a footnote, vasquez indicated he was troubled by the rhetoric trump has used on the campaign trail about alleged voter fraud. <u+201c>the court notes that, unfortunately, such calls for uninformed, vigilante enforcement of voting laws carries with it the very real possibility of subjecting the adherents to legal violations,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>from the evidence submitted by the dnc, it appears that some individuals who plan on <u+2018>watching<u+2019> polls in <u+2018>certain areas<u+2019> are not even aware of the law or its contours.<u+201d> by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
court rules against dems in <u+2018>ballot security<u+2019> case - politico
michael grunwald