Texas Democratic Party: Moving Texas Forward

King Street Patriots Challenging Walker Recall Petition

“True the Vote” is a front group for the King Street Patriots (KSP), a Tea Party nonprofit corporation based in Texas. KSP made national news last election cycle when their members were caught [1] conducting a voter intimidation program in Houston which consisted of the KSP training “poll watchers” who were then assigned by the local Republican Party or a Republican candidate to “watch” people voting inside poll sites. As was widely reported, what the KSP poll watchers actually did was show up to poll sites and leer over the shoulders of voters, argue with election judges and generally cause disrupt voting within poll sites, all of which were in minority precincts. The many instances of voter intimidation resulted in the Department of Justice sending federal inspectors to monitor the election.

Among the KSP’s other infamous Texas exploits was a revelation that they produced a promotional video in which they falsified a photograph of an African-American woman to make it appear that she was holding a sign that advocated for voter fraud, when she was actually holding at a Gore / Lieberman rally and the sign actually said “Don’t Mess With Our Vote”. [2] Earlier this year the KSP also held a fundraiser with Matthew Vadum – an ultra-rightwing author who believes that “registering the poor to vote is un-American.”

The Texas Democratic Party has an ongoing lawsuit against the KSP because the Tea Party group has, without exception, been working to suppress Democratic turnout and enhance the prospects of Republican candidates. However, as a nonprofit corporation filed in Texas, the group is prohibited from conducting that type of political activity and is essentially operating as an illegal political action committee. By maintaining itself as a nonprofit corporation, the KSP are able to conduct their vote suppression scheme without disclosing the people bankrolling it all.

TDP spokesman Anthony Gutierrez released the following statement:

“The King Street Patriots are nothing more than a front group in the Republican assault on voting rights. Just as Scott Walker paved the way for Republicans in their war on the rights of workers, Texas Republicans like the King Street Patriots are trailblazers when it comes to thinking up new ways to keep elections out of the hands of voters. It’s no surprised that the king Street Patriots are eager to insert themselves in the Wisconsin race given that recent polls show Scott Walker losing against all the leading Democratic candidates.”

Many of the Republican policies being pushed around the country today which seek to make democracy less accessible were originated by Texas Republicans like the King Street Patriots.

We sincerely regret that this extremist group has expanded their operations outside of Texas. We will continue our legal battle and have no intention of giving up until we force them to admit that they are a Republican political action committee and stop operating in the shadows.”

[1] Talking Points Memo

Eyewitnesses report intimidation by Texas poll watchers

[2] Huffington Post

Right-wing Voter Suppression Effort Caught Using Doctored Photo

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