Armed Militias And Poll Watchers: Know The Laws In Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS — At the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, President Trump used the stage to call for volunteers to stand watch at November election polls, once again citing his evidence-free claim that U.S. elections are "rigged" or fraudulent.

The call to monitor polling places prompted an enthusiastic response from known neo-Nazis and right-wing activist groups.

"I got shivers," Andrew Anglin, the founder of the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, wrote in a post the day after the debate. "I still have shivers. He is telling the people to stand by. As in: Get ready for war."

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The president’s call also sparked trepidation among state election and law enforcement officials, who now are preparing for the threat of voter intimidation, arrests and even violence on Election Day.

Poll watchers have historical significance in both Massachusetts and U.S. elections.

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, former Republican lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg called poll watchers "fundamental" to the election process — but if Trump’s calls are heeded, the Republican Party would see the type of activity at polling places it has sought for years to avoid.

"Should Trump seek to delegitimize the presidential election, he would most likely begin by causing delays and chaos in precincts that voted heavily against him in 2016. His most obvious tactic would be having the RNC instruct its poll watchers to abandon their traditional role and, instead, lodge mass challenges both as voters cast their ballots and then as mail ballots are tabulated," Ginsberg wrote.

While it’s unclear what activities to expect at Election Day polls in Massachusetts, each state has laws barring unauthorized private militia groups, according to the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University.

According to federal law, voter intimidation is prohibited. In fact, the right of each voter to cast his or her ballot free from intimidation or coercion is a foundational principle of a free and democratic society.

The institute at Georgetown recently compiled fact sheets detailing federal and state statutes on voter intimidation. Sheets also outline what to do if groups of armed people are near a polling place or voter registration drive.

All 50 states prohibit private, unauthorized militias and military units from engaging in activities reserved for the state militia, including law enforcement activities. The Massachusetts laws are described below:

• The Massachusetts Constitution forbids private military units from operating outside state authority, providing that "the military power shall always be held in exact subordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it." Mass. Const. pt. I, art. XVII.
• Massachusetts law makes it illegal for groups of people to organize as private militias without permission from the state. It is a misdemeanor for "bodies of citizens" to "drill or parade with firearms or harmless imitations thereof" without authorization by the governor as commander-in-chief. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 33 §§ 1, 130–31.

Furthermore, the Second Amendment does not protect militia activity. The Supreme Court decided in 1886—and repeated in 2008—that the Second Amendment "does not prevent the prohibition of private paramilitary organizations." District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 621 (2008) (citing Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886).)

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).