Election vigilantes still pushing former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” are reportedly going door-to-door filming their interrogations of homeowners as they ask about their vote in the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Matt Longley, a registered Democratic voter, recalled his encounter with election vigilantes when three women knocked on his door back in September. According to Longley, they asked multiple questions about his household and how many individuals residing in the home actually voted.
“They reiterated, several times, that they did not want or need to know who [we] voted for,” Longley said. “They were asking for how I voted (by mail) and were interested to know if I thought my vote was actually counted (I did). I told them that there was a website that one could go to confirm receipt of their vote. I got a look at one of their clipboards and saw an e-mail address that ended in ‘nebraskaguardians.com’. I thought it was odd and it was pretty obvious what kind of agenda they had, but they did seem nice enough, and they seemed oddly insistent that they not know who I voted for.”
While voters find election vigilantes to be weird, they believe their is purpose in their efforts.
After multiple, bizarre conspiracy theories and repeated failed attempts to overturn the results of the presidential election, Trump loyalists believe their latest canvassing tactic could produce the results they are seeking, according to The Beast. However, critics suggest otherwise.
During an interview with the publication, Sean Morales-Doyle, acting director at the Brennan Center For Justice’s Democracy Program, weighed in on the problematic aspects of vigilantes’ efforts.
“This lie that the election was rigged has already done a great deal of damage and continues to do damage in a number of different ways,” Morales-Doyle said. “Going around door-to-door and continuing to spread this misinformation can only do more harm.”
He went on to discuss the broader perspective of the threats that this type of canvassing imposes. “What’s most frightening to me is not that it’s a rallying cry for people to go out and vote for a certain candidate, but that it’s a rallying cry for actions that undermine democracy,” he said.
He added, “This is the lie that justified a wave of passages of restrictive voting laws across the country, the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations. This is the lie that motivated people to go attack the Capitol on January 6.”