In a state with a left-leaning media that sees the pale specter of voter intimidation and suppression behind every corner, one might expect bona fide accounts of voter intimidation during a presidential election to receive ample coverage.
However, they would be wrong.
During Tuesday's presidential election, voters in Alabama flocked to the polls to cast their vote for their preferred candidate. Unsurprisingly, the state overwhelmingly voted in favor of President-elect Donald Trump.
However, in Lee County, multiple accounts came flooding in of chief poll inspector Sharon Braswell badgering Trump voters at a polling location at the Opelika Sportsplex.
Several claimed Braswell threatened people with arrest, threatened to physically remove voters' MAGA hats, escorted a man's daughter to the bathroom to turn her Trump-Vance sweatshirt inside out and forced a woman out of the polling location.
After the polls closed, Lee County Probate Judge Bill English told 1819 News that there would be no reprisal for Braswell's alleged behavior despite receiving multiple official complaints, saying a decision would be made when the state has its next election in 2026.
1819 News spoke to numerous individuals claiming to have had confrontations with Braswell and witnessing her behavior to others. As for the other news outlets in the state, there is no mention of the events.
Alabama's left-leaning media adores fictitious and scaremongering stories, bemoaning the faintest possibility of voter suppression in the state, often hinting that the state's laws, lawmakers, and election officials are actively trying to suppress the votes of Alabamians, specifically minorities.
During the 2024 legislative session, the state's media flooded the internet with stories and opinion pieces, casting doubt on a law to crack down on ballot harvesting.
Likewise, when Secretary of State Wes Allen implemented a program to remove non-citizens from the voting rolls, the media once again echoed hints of voter suppression.
Despite the apparent concern over election integrity, voting rights and voter suppression, reports of an election official threatening voters with arrest for legally protected speech seemed not to hit the media's radar.
However, AL(dot) com, the state's leading publication, found time to drum out phony outrage over a Selma newspaper changing its profile picture to a bale of cotton. It also extensively covered a handful of black students receiving random text messages about picking cotton, bizarrely tying the messages to Trump's presidential victory.
To contact the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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