Eyes On Every Ballot: Rules For Effective Election Observers

Summary: Authorized observers play a critical role in ensuring everyone handling the polling duties does so legally. We offer some tips for poll watching with peak efficiency.

Congratulations to the terrific citizen patriots of all parties signing up as poll watchers and election officers trained up for the Nov 5^th general election!

With fewer than 100 days to go before the 7 PM “end of voting” on November 5th, it is inarguable that voting has become more and more complex in recent years. Many states have long periods of early voting, mail in ballots have become more popular, and many Americans have concerns about voting machines – poll watchers and observers have a critical role to ensure everyone plays by the rules – new and old.

Now that your poll watcher paperwork is in order, one-page reminder sheets ready, notepads and pens in hand, here are some tips for showing up mentally prepared to do the job of observing a process – and documenting problems when they arise.

 #1: From the Department of the Obvious: Know the Law

Many committees and county registrar training programs provide a one-page “cheat sheet,” or summary of key areas to watch, to help guide observers’ observations.

—Bring all necessary authorization paperwork: That includes personal identification, and anything to get you through the day – comfy shoes, lunch, snacks, and medication, too. Observers are required to stay in the precinct the entire shift.

—Check the distance for viewing: If you are observing in-person voting, check that your seat is positioned so you can actually see the process. The “cheat sheet” with the “dos and don’ts” and relevant statutes should cover the viewing distance to allow an observer to meaningfully observe the process.

The word “meaningful” in the observation process is an important distinction. Some election managers and precinct chiefs might try to place your seat on the other side of the room, more than 10 feet away, for example. That would transform you from an observer to a potted plant. Don’t let that happen.

—Be ready to observe at the statutory distance provided.

One election observer recounted how, as a poll watcher, an election worker checking in voters objected to an observer just sitting there observing the process. The argument: the observer might be “scribbling down” the voter’s names and addresses as they were being checked in. Once the election officer understood that observers are legally allowed to, well, observe, all was well.

The “privacy” issue that some election workers try to make when trying to block observers from a meaningful view has become a hobby horse of partisan election officials in recent years. They often claim they have a duty to protect the voter from the prying eyes of observers, or something.

However, the voter list and maintenance activities (with some personally identifiable information [PII] shielded in the record), is a public document, according to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

So, for example, if a voter’s registration record comes up as “inactive” in the pollbook when they check in and state their name, in many states, the voter is not allowed to cast a ballot until they have signed paperwork with the precinct manager. They must attest they are still registered and eligible.

This is a key observation that poll workers should be able to make from their viewing distance. In many states, the election workers must refer the voter to the precinct chief so they can attest that their registration is still valid.

Poll watchers would be wise and confident to check on any key legal privacy distinctions before they start their shift.

#2. Know The Problems, and What to Spot

The 2020 COVID election ushered in a mass shift to mail-in ballots – with few controls on how people could apply for them, and sloppy controls on verification procedures. It created irregularities in swing states that haunt the electorate to this day.

Many states have tightened up controls. But soft spots abound across the process of mailing, delivering, processing, then tabulating a mail-in ballot.

Observation seems simple, but it’s so important. Depending on the state, observers would be watching that workers verified that a signature on the outer security envelope matches the registration signature. Did they check other key identifiers on the absentee ballot with the registration record?

One of the scandals from the 2020 election in Arizona’s Maricopa County was that workers fell so behind in processing absentee ballots they were literally ripping them open and shoving them into tabulators by the end of the processing, according to the Arizona Senate’s audit of the 2020 election.

An absentee mail-in ballot takes a lot of hops from the voter’s hands to the tabulator machine. The more hops, the bigger the risk that it can be intercepted. That’s why election observers are critical “eyes on” the most important last mile for a ballot before it is scanned into a tabulator: the signature verification process to determine that it is a valid ballot by an eligible voter.

Bottom Line: Know what to watch out for when observing the verification process in the “processing rooms.”

#3.  Polite – and Forthright

Generally, election workers are well-trained and welcome the observer. Expect registrars to be professional and responsive to relevant questions or concerns.

There will always be bad apples, whether by accident or intent, such as an elections officer yanking a flash drive from the tabulator machine before it had printed the statement of results (SOR). The voting data on the flash drive were corrupted, resulting in delays in reporting the precinct results.

Bottom line is this: Authorized observers are critical to ensure the election process is run accurately and lawfully. It is worth every second of your time to review the training (usually provided by a local registrar’s office), and review any materials that county committees and civic groups may have provided.

Four years after the 2020 mail-in chaos, an army of election observers, poll watchers, election officers and judges have been trained to ensure that sides agree on who won and whether it was done the old-fashioned citizen patriot way: fair and square. #

To find out more about training programs for poll watchers, sign up here.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: Kamala Mocks Trump, Issues Bold Challenge – Should He Agree?