I Did Not Know This

From TPM:

Donald Trump’s calls for vigilante poll watchers prompts all sorts of concerns -- for voters, for election workers and for other lawmakers on the ballot getting dragged into the mess. But for the Republican National Committee in particular the rhetoric brings up a very delicate but significant issue that has its roots in a 1981 court case that has had lasting implications for its Election Day activities.

Trump’s comments urging elections monitoring has drawn attention to the consent decree the RNC signed in 1982 that banned the very sort of “ballot security” measures Trump has encouraged from his supporters. If there’s reason to believe the RNC was participating, it could be found in violation of the decree, which could keep the committee under its restrictions for another eight years. That would be a major set back for the RNC, given the decree is set to expire in 2017.

This consent decree stems from a 1981 lawsuit filed against the RNC by Democrats for actions related to a New Jersey gubernatorial race. The RNC and its state counterpart "engaged in a number of practices in the name of 'ballot security' that intimidated, threatened or coerced minority voters." The alleged activities "included the hiring of off-duty cops to patrol near polling places in minority communities, as well as a shady mailer campaign the RNC used to cobble together a list to challenge otherwise eligible voters from casting ballots at polling places."

Anyway, fascinating stuff.  Trump and his Brownshirts definitely want to engage in this type of activity.  In order to avoid an extension of the consent decree, the RNC will have to go out of its way to demonstrate it had nothing to do with Donald's inevitable intimidation efforts at the polls.  Good luck with that.