Midterm elections are here and the Tea Party is boiling over with overzealous “poll watchers.” These Tea Party supporters, who are often also a part of the Republican Party, have taken it upon themselves to enforce what they deem “voter fraud.” The Tea Party members claim that fraudulent voter registration and voting caused a significant skew in the last presidential and congressional election. According to experts and the Justice Department, this is the opposite of the case. Last election, only 95 people were charged with some sort of voter fraud and only 55 were convicted. Despite this, there have been reports of Tea Party members challenging voter registration applications, questioning voters’ eligibility at early voting polls and generally harassing voters. In Harris County, Texas, Tea Party members have been accused of disrupting voting lines and procedures and aggressively questioning voters and poll workers all in the name of weeding out “voter fraud.” For some odd reason, this “voter fraud” only appears to need prevention in districts with a large minority constituency. This sad fact clearly shows that the Tea Party has no real agenda in stopping voter fraud. In reality, they are adopting corrupt tactics used for centuries to intimidate and reduce opposition voting. The Republican Party may not directly claim affiliation with the Tea Party, but they are just as responsible for these racist and undemocratic acts. At GOP.com, the Republican Party website, this form of stringent poll watching is even encouraged. In case Tea Party members are not aware, the United States does have a very competent system that helps to stop both voter fraud and polling intimidation, and it’s  called the Justice Department. This arm of the government adequately handles both forms of voting problems without the help of these angry and misguided minions. Actions like these are equivalent to the good old boys down the road going out with their shotguns and trying to hunt down bank robbers. Obviously, this would be downright dangerous. It is important to realize that for the safety of the public, everyone should leave the policing and the voter enforcement to the professionals.   The fact that voter intimidation is occurring in this day and age is a testament to the backward views of Tea Party members, and that their actions should be dealt with in a serious manner. Ultimately, the actions of the Tea Party have gone much too far. They have the right to protest and to voice their opinion, but by no means do they or anyone else have the right to obstruct the basic functions of the country.