Linda Kerns writes at the Philly Inquirer about the cause of some of the unrestrained lawlessness at the polls in Philadelphia :

“When we appeared for their polling-place certificates, prior to Election Day, the attorney for the Democratic City Committee objected to all 307 petitions on a variety of grounds, including that we could not prove that many of our proposed workers were literate. (It’s ironic that Democrats seemed to be trying to bring back a literacy test for voting.) The court overruled every objection and, after two days of back-and-forth, we were the proud owners of 307 court-ordered certificates. . . .

On Election Day almost 100 Republican poll workers were told, in no uncertain terms, to go home by their Democratic counterparts. Despite my petition, the Election Court judge refused to issue an order directing that any persons with valid minority inspector certificates be permitted their rightful seat in their voting districts.”

Would the placement of Republican poll watchers have made any difference in President Obama’s landslide win in Philadelphia? Obviously not. However, in between presidential years, the city holds three general elections and three primaries. Turnout can be about 20 percent, and some races are decided by razor-thin margins. A couple of stolen votes, in just a few of the more than 1,600 voting precincts, could change an outcome.”