Poll Watchers -- what are they allowed to do?

[The Backlash Cometh]

Here's the scenario: In the 2000 election there were claims that Republican voters were being contacted by phone and were being told that the records showed that they still hadn't voted, so please go down and vote.

I've always wondered how this information could be made available on election day and I determined that there's only one way. It could only happen if a poll watcher was allowed to look over the shoulder of a poll worker and take down names. I don't really believe the poll worker would have had time to do it himself/herself.

So, the big question is, what are poll watchers allowed to do? Can they make phone calls from the polling place? Carry clipboards with pre-printed lists? Does anybody know?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. I'll tell you how we do it in my county

since there is no party registration in my state, we do phone polling to determine who will vote Democratic. That is compiled into a list for each precinct. The poll watchers can sit to the side of the election judges and as voters come up and declare who they are, we cross them off the list. 3 times during election day, the list is manually shuttled to the county headquarters where rides are arranged, etc. No electioneering is allowed, of course (no campaign buttons, etc.).

[Kolesar]

Wow, that is a lot of effort

Good work

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. The next question:

If this process is legal, why aren't the Democrats doing it in every precinct?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. We do it in as many precincts as we have volunteers for.

More volunteers, more poll watching.


Or to answer your question a different way, one year, I think it was '98, a Republican confronted me, with similar questions -- Why are only the Democrats here, why is there no Republican poll watcher?, she demanded angrily. I simply told her, there was nothing stopping the Republicans, they just either didn't have the organization, the volunteers, or the will, to do it.


I guess the lesson is, do everything you can to motivate people to volunteer, especially for election day and just prior. In fact, it is a lot of fun, seeing everybody come in to vote, being part of the process...

[Orangepeel]

6. because it is a lot of work

it takes a volunteer to sit there all day, plus runners to take the info back to a headquarters, plus the phone banking to identify supporters before the election and to contact people who haven't voted on election day.

Not every organization has enough volunteers to do that in every precinct.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. The advantage in Florida

is that the Democratic party could get a computerized list of their supporters just by asking for it at the Sup. of Election's office.

[MaineDem]

8. As said above, volunteers

We're gearing up to do this in November. It was one of the first volunteer jobs I ever had with the Democratic Party back in high school. We sit to the side, not within the voting area, and cross names off as people come in to vote and state their names.

It is volunteer-intensive. It's not fiar to ask people to sit at the polls for more than a few hours so we need many shifts. Phone callers are needed and we try to have a driver or two available for people who can't get themselves to the polls.

I'd urge anyone with some time available on election day to contact their local, county, or state party and volunteer for this.

[bluestateguy]

2. Depends on the locality

Some places allow video cameras, some don't. Some places allow ppoll watchers to talk to the voters, some don't. I would check with the laws in your community before doing anything as you could be charged with civil rights violations or VRA violations if you are not careful.

[sallyseven]

4. They are usually people who

are active in their party. They can sit and listen to people as they sigh in. The poll workers have to repeat the name and address of the voter out loud. The pool watcher checks them off on the voter list. Closer to the end of the night they go after the non-voters to encourage them to come out and vote. I do it for the democrats. It is fun.