By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – Civil rights leaders in St. Louis say they're ready to fend off any attempts to deny African-Americans their right to vote next Tuesday.
Officials with the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP say the Republican Party is trying to intimidate black voters by sending them derogatory mailings, and they say the party is recruiting "poll challengers" to harass people in line at polling sites.
The NAACP says it's prepared to take legal action if necessary. But Tim Person, a Republican Party consultant in Missouri, accuses the group of running a fear campaign.
"It's out of the standard Democratic playbook," Person said. "Intimidate, scare people, don't talk about the issues, talk about rhetoric. And it just totally misses the point. Nobody's in here intimidating people, nobody's doing anything illegal."
As is the case in Florida, a team of lawyers and election monitors will be stationed at several polling sites in St. Louis city and county on Tuesday.