Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Monday suggested that the "best thing" that the presidential campaigns could do would be to send poll watchers to "intimidate people into playing it straight." Appearing on Fox & Friends on the Monday before
November 5, 2012

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Monday suggested that the "best thing" that the presidential campaigns could do would be to send poll watchers to "intimidate people into playing it straight."

Appearing on Fox & Friends on the Monday before election day, Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano explained that campaign lawyers had found "ingenuous ways to challenge things."

"So no matter how well it's going, no matter how smoothly it looks, whoever's losing has an opportunity to make a challenge," Napolitano said. "The Democrats will say, 'Republican poll workers wouldn't let people who are authorized to vote, vote.' And Republicans will say, 'Democrats are voting twice. They also have people voting who aren't authorized to vote.' And the courts are not going to be able to resolve this on Tuesday night."

Kilmeade replied: "So, if you have presence there, if you're a Republican, if you're a Romney or Obama people, Republican on Democrat, the best thing you can do is to have a presence there to show -- maybe intimidate people into playing it straight. Correct?"

"Well, intimidation is actually [a crime]," Napolitano point out.

"Not intimidation," Kilmeade said. "Just go, 'Oh, that guy's over here and..."

"I'm watching," co-host Steve Doocy added.

Napolitano noted that most states allowed three poll watchers from each party at each polling place, but "the only way there won't be all this litigation is if one of them wins by substantial numbers in given states."

"And these are poll watchers, not dancers," Kilmeade concluded.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made it a crime to "intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any" voter.

Title 18 U.S.C. 594 specifies fines and/or jail time for "[w]hoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose."

(h/t: Mediaite)

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