THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Under the smokescreen of preventing the election from being stolen from their total loser candidate Trump, a gaggle of StormTrumpers is gathering in Charlotte to do whatever they do.

A cadre of loosely-organized Donald Trump supporters concerned about a rigged election and voter fraud plan to be in Charlotte – one of a handful of major U.S. cities where grassroots volunteers say they’ll be conducting exit polling.

The effort is part of longtime Republican political consultant Roger Stone’s “Stop the Steal” movement. The “Stop the Steal” tax-exempt political group – whose website logo features an outline of Trump’s face – bills itself as being “devoted to maintaining the integrity of our electoral process.”

Trump has repeatedly said the 2016 election is “rigged” and he has claimed reporters and Democratic political operatives are in cahoots against him. “Stop the Steal” recruits volunteers to poll departing voters and, on its website, the group warns of “election theft through manipulation of the computerized voting machines.”

North Carolina voting locations use a mix of electronic machines and paper-only ballots. The electronic voting method, which is used in Mecklenburg County, also produces a paper trail, called a “real time audit log.” And, machines aren’t allowed to have Internet connections.

Stone’s group says it has an “emergency committee” in place to inspect software used in voting machines. Stone recently told The Guardian at least 1,300 volunteers have signed up to visit polling places across the country, including Charlotte, Detroit, Las Vegas and Cleveland.

If Trump supporters who are worried about election fraud show up at polling places in Charlotte, they’ll be expected to follow the same rules as everyone else, says Michael Dickerson, director of elections in Mecklenburg County.

All campaigning near polling places and exit polling must be done outside a 50-foot buffer at precincts, according to North Carolina state law.

“The voter does not have to stop and answer. There’s no harassment of voters – that will not be tolerated,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson said Thursday he had not heard of “Stop the Steal’s” plans in North Carolina. The group’s motivation doesn’t concern him any more than “the overall comments of a rigged election,” he said.

Mecklenburg County and election officials statewide, Dickerson said, are committed to running open and honest elections.

Roger Stone may have made a lot of noise to stir up the rubes, but he knows better than to cross the line into illegality. The fools will show up here and there but they will find no leadership to show them what to do.