Big Labor to Deploy 2,000 'Poll Monitors' on Election Day

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Friday said his unions will deploy 2,000 “poll monitors” and lawyers to combat what they fear will be voter suppression efforts by Republicans on Election Day. 

“We’re going to have over 2,000 people that are going to be available as poll monitors that’ll be connected to a number of lawyers around the country, Trumka said Thursday. “So that if they [the opposition] attempt to deny them the right to vote, or hassle them we’ll be able to have a rapid response team that will respond immediately to that and protect them.”

Trumka, whose union members have been accused in the past of intimidating voters near polling places, said his labor unions will focus on states like Ohio, “where we think there could be problems and so we’ll challenge those everywhere we can and protect the votes.”

Trumka also said AFL-CIO has a call-in number he is “encouraging people” to call to report alleged problems and efforts at suppression. 

“We want to ensure that working family voters know how to get information about elections in their state as well as who to call if they have trouble on Election Day,” Trumka asserted.