Election Ohio

The Ohio Democratic Party said in a lawsuit filed Sunday that the Ohio Republican Party and Donald Trump's campaign are encouraging voter-intimidation tactics on Nov. 8.

(Associated Press file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Democratic Party has filed suit against the state Republicans, Donald Trump's campaign and longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone for what it views as voter-intimidation tactics.

The lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in Cleveland says that Trump, his surrogates and other Republican officials have made comments about trying to discourage voters from the black community and other groups from voting on Nov. 8.

As his election chances have faltered, Trump recently has repeatedly claimed the election is "rigged" and said his supporters should visit polling places to ensure integrity within the election. The lawsuit says such tactics are being encouraged in Democratic strongholds like Cleveland.

(You can read the full lawsuit here or at the bottom of this story.)

Elections officials from both parties, as well as independent experts, say that election fraud is very rare, and to the extent that it does happen, it occurs on a scale much too small to influence a national election.

The lawsuit cites several examples of such comments by Trump made in Ohio, including a statement made at an Aug. 22 rally in Akron.

"You've got to get everybody to go out and watch, and go out and vote," Trump said at the rally. "And when I say 'watch,' you know what I'm talking about, right?"

(You can see video of Trump's statement below. The comment begins at 44:28.)

The Ohio Democratic Party says such statements, as well as other actions, are tantamount to intimidation. The party says the defendants are violating the Ku Klux Klan and Voting Rights acts. Both laws ban voter intimidation and were passed at times when threats against minority voters were prevalent.

The lawsuit seeks a restraining order preventing Trump supporters from engaging in voter intimidation between now and Nov. 8 Election Day. They want to see a judge prevent Trump supporters from conducting "aggressive questioning of those waiting to vote, threats or suggestions of legal or criminal action" and monitoring polling places.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge James Gwin, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Similar lawsuits were filed in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.

Brittany Warner, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Republican Party called the lawsuit "nothing more than a publicity stunt from the Ohio Democratic Party" in an email statement. She said the party's lawyers are working on an appropriate response.

"The arguments cited are not at all related to our official operations at the Ohio Republican Party," Warner's statement continues. "Republican leadership in Ohio has created opportunities for greater ballot access and in no way would we ever be involved in the intimidation of voters."

Attorneys for the national Trump campaign said in a statement that "the campaign is doing everything in accordance with applicable law -- the suit does not challenge this, and asks only that the law be followed, which the campaign is already doing."

Voter intimidation is a federal crime, punishable by up to a year in prison.

However, political parties, groups of five or more candidates and recognized committees in support of a ballot issue, are allowed to send a limited number of official observers into the polling places as independent monitors to the process. County elections officials certify the observers meet the legal criteria under state law.

Electioneering is banned within 100 feet of any polling location under Ohio law.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said Monday that the lawsuit was filed to "be safe and take action" should anything illegal occur.

"This is making sure we don't take anything for granted," Pepper said.

The lawsuit references statements made by vice presidential candidate Mike Pence and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. It also references an unnamed senior Trump campaign official who told Bloomberg News that "we have three major voter suppression operations under way."

It also takes aim at Stone and a group he controls, Stop the Steal Inc., and seeks to stop them from conducting "exit polling" in nine cities that historically vote Democrat. These include Cleveland, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.

The lawsuit also says Stone, through an organization called "Vote Protectors," recruited volunteers to watch polling places. He's also encouraged the so-called "protectors" to download and print out "official looking identification badges" and to livestream activities in November as they talk to voters about "election fraud," the lawsuit says.

Stone said in an emailed statement that the polls his organizations will conduct will be scientific.

"We seek only to determine if the election is honestly and fairly conducted and to provide an evidentiary basis for a challenge to the election if that is not the case," he said in the statement. "I assume the purpose of this bogus lawsuit is to distract from the voter-fraud the Democrats have traditionally engaged in."

Stone did not provide any evidence to back up his fraud claim.

The attorneys for Trump's national campaign said Monday that "Stop the Steal and Roger Stone are not affiliated with the campaign, and we have no idea what they are doing."

Updated with comments from all parties, as well as background and more information from the lawsuit.