In 1981 in New Jersey, about 200 members of the “National Ballot Security Task Force” were deployed statewide at or near polling places, many of them uniformed and carrying guns. Using various tactics (ID, veiled threats, etc.), they discouraged or prevented Black and Latino voters from casting their votes. Weeks later, after a recount, Republican Thomas Kean won the election by fewer than 1,800 votes.

Democrats and civil rights activists later discovered that the “ballot security” operation was a joint project of the state and national Republican committees. They filed suit in December 1981, charging Republicans with “efforts to intimidate, threaten and coerce duly qualified black and Hispanic voters.”

In November 1982, the case was settled when the Republican committees signed a federal consent decree – a court order applicable to activities anywhere in the U.S. – agreeing not to use race in selecting targets for ballot security activities and to refrain from deploying armed poll watchers. This decree expired in 2018 after Democrats failed to convince a judge to renew it. The 2020 presidential election will be the first in nearly 40 years conducted without the protections afforded by that decree.

edited for typos