Early voting is now underway across Wisconsin and the Department of Justice says it’s ready to protect voters.

Attorney General Josh Kaul says they are going to be watching for voter intimidation during the next two weeks heading into election day. 

“Somebody uses force or the threat of force to prevent somebody from voting? That’s a crime. It’s also a crime to cause somebody to be in a state of duress to prevent them from voting.”

Kaul says people are welcome to come out and observe the vote, but they are not allowed to make themselves part of the process or threaten voters. 

“Election inspectors are giving a lot of authority to make sure that polling places are are able to run smoothly, and so if an individual disrupts or interferes with the voting process, election inspectors are able to remove those folks from the polling locations and to contact law enforcement.”

Kaul says intimidation doesn’t just have to be direct threats to someone, it can also be people loitering near a polling place with the aims to turn people away from the poll. 

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