May 20, 2021 - 9:02am The Center for Media and Democracy spoke with People For the American Way President Ben Jealous about poll watching's racist history and current resurgence for this story. Here are Jealous' full answers to CMD's questions. Could you comment generally on the effect of poll watching on voters of color historically? Poll watching as a general premise is not a bad idea, but the reality is that "poll watching" orchestrated by the Right has translated to "voter intimidation" of Black voters throughout the decades. Poll watchers deployed to scare away voters of color have often been armed and violent, dating back to the 19th century. So there's no question that harassment and intimidation in the guise of "poll watching" has suppressed the Black vote for many years.