Voting Rights Organizations Send Cease and Desist Letter to North Carolina Election Integrity Team in Ongoing Efforts to Stop Intimidation Campaign Targeting Spanish Speaking Voters
Raleigh, N.C.- During a press conference this afternoon, a coalition of more than 20 voting and civil rights organizations announced an escalation in their advocacy efforts to stop the North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT) from further targeting Spanish speaking voters in a multi-pronged campaign that threatens to intimidate eligible voters. Attorneys from Forward Justice, Protect Democracy and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced they have sent a cease and desist letter to NCEIT on behalf of their clients El Pueblo, North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) and the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP (NC NAACP). The letter demands that James Womack, the President of NCEIT and chairman of the Republican Party in Lee County, North Carolina:
- Immediately cease and desist from any such unlawful interference with the rights of Hispanic and other citizens to vote
- Immediately instruct NCEIT’s members in clear and unequivocal language not to engage in any such interference before, on, or after Election Day; and
- Immediately take steps to preserve all relevant documents and information pertaining to your and/or NCEIT’s activities, including but not limited to hard copy documents, video and audio recordings, and documents and information stored electronically.
The group of advocates have also sent a second advocacy letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) highlighting the increase in intimidation since their initial letter and uplifting concerns from numerous Latino voters they have spoken with across the state. Advocates are reiterating their initial request that the NCSBE remove these signs as unlawful voter intimidation intended to frighten Latino citizens from exercising their right to vote; and request that the State Board of Elections release an affirmative statement in Spanish reassuring monolingual Spanish speakers who are eligible voters in this state that they are safe to vote in North Carolina and they have the right to immediately report any intimidation at the polls.
Iliana Santilan, executive director of El Pueblo says, “We are coming together to send a clear message today to every Spanish speaking eligible voter in the state: we need your voice in this election, we are here to support you, and we are going to fight to ensure that you are safe to make your voices heard with full dignity and respect in our democracy. With the confusing constitutional amendment on the ballot and an increase in other anti-immigrant tactics and messaging, action must be taken now to ensure that every eligible voter, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, is allowed to cast their ballot free from intimidation and fear.”
Caitlin Swain, Co-Director of Forward Justice explained, “Alongside the high enthusiasm in the state and historic voting participation levels, we are seeing a troubling uptick in fear tactics aimed at deterring or suppressing the growing power of Latino voters in our state. Every North Carolina voter deserves to know that they will be welcomed to vote their ballot and have the right to express their voting preference free from discrimination. Your vote is your voice. That’s why we are taking action today with El Pueblo, the NC NAACP, and a coalition of state and national voting rights groups to ensure that where there is evidence of a stated intent to target voters based on race, language, or ethnicity, and concrete actions to intimidate that are creating fear among North Carolina voters by an organized group, these violations and any further attempted interference with the fundamental right to vote must cease immediately.”
Watch a recording of the press conference livestream on the El Pueblo Instagram account
Additional Information:
Among other actions, NCEIT has placed yellow signs at polling places in at least 11 counties across the state, which warn individuals only in Spanish that they may be charged with a crime and deported if they vote in this election as a non-citizen. James Womack is the President of NCEIT and chairs the Republican Party in Lee County, North Carolina. In a video obtained by CBS News, Womack is seen instructing attendees at a virtual meeting to flag voters with "Hispanic-sounding last names" as one way to identify potentially suspicious registrations as the group combs through voter rolls ahead of the 2024 election.
On October 22, 2024, a coalition of organizations sent an advocacy letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) requesting that the signs be removed from North Carolina polling locations, and for NCSBE to release an affirmative statement in Spanish reassuring Spanish speakers who are eligible voters in this state that they are safe to vote in North Carolina and that they have the right to immediately report any intimidation at the polls. In the week since that advocacy, more signs from NCEIT – exclusively in Spanish – have been observed across the state, along with other ‘citizens only’ voting signs from groups and individuals; signs that advocates say only worsen ongoing intimidation and create a further chilling effect for Spanish speaking eligible voters.