Opinion ID: 1901640
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The mob at the Center.

Text: ¶ 30. Several of Straughter's witnesses (again including Straughter himself) testified that a large number of people were simply waiting around the Center, and at least one of Straughter's witnesses openly claimed that this crowd was encouraged to remain at the Center for the express purpose of intimidating white voters. However, Straughter offered no evidence in support of this theory other than the statements by some of his witnesses that they felt intimidated by the large number of Collins supporters at the scene. In any event, Straughter cites no authority for the proposition that the mere presence of a large crowd of people near a polling station is per se evidence of voter fraud. Further, there was no allegation that any of these people violated Section 23-15-895, which prohibits distribution of campaign material within 150 feet of the polling place. Given the high emotions which attend many elections, whether local, state or federal, we decline to establish the presence of such crowds, without more, as a basis for overturning an election.