Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots
4 years, 1 month ago

Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots

Associated Press  

Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by the Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe the counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and they were committed to transparency. Ballots without this information could be challenged or disqualified, but city officials said state election law allows poll watchers only to observe the work and not audit it. Also Thursday, a Michigan judge dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit over whether enough Republican poll watchers had access to the handling of absentee ballots. She said she was not aware of any Republican poll watchers being removed but noted some had been “very aggressive, trying to intimidate the poll workers and processors.” Ray Wert, who volunteered as a Democratic poll watcher at the site, said he found a group of Republican supporters blocking the entrance and he observed police officers telling the crowd that no additional people were being let inside because there were equal numbers of partisan poll watchers.

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History of this topic

Protecting the Integrity of US Elections: The Role of Poll Watchers
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Protecting the Integrity of US Elections: The Role of Poll Watchers

Firstpost  

Poll watchers are ordinary citizens who volunteer to observe elections on behalf of an organisation. They protect their organisation’s interests at polling places by observing as ballots are cast and counted, and can help ensure that only eligible voters participate and that blatant election rigging does not occur. However, poll watchers can also undermine the integrity of elections by overzealously …

Judge dismisses Missouri lawsuit that sought watchers at early voting
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Judge dismisses Missouri lawsuit that sought watchers at early voting

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Election Officials Relieved After Fearful Poll Worker Shortage Doesn't Materialize
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Election Officials Relieved After Fearful Poll Worker Shortage Doesn't Materialize

CNN  

Election offices across the country are relieved after fears of poll worker shortages didn't materialize. A majority of election officials, including top officials in battleground states, say they have sufficient staff to handle the upcoming election. The Pew Research Center poll shows that 90% of Harris supporters and 57% of Trump supporters still have confidence in their state and local …

Election Officials Relieved After Fearful Poll-Worker Shortage Doesn't Materialize
1 month, 4 weeks ago

Election Officials Relieved After Fearful Poll-Worker Shortage Doesn't Materialize

CNN  

Election offices across the country are relieved after fears of poll worker shortages didn't materialize. Despite the challenges of the 2020 election, voters still have confidence in their local and state election officials, with a majority expressing faith in their ability to conduct a smooth and fair election.

Trump campaign announces 100,000 poll watchers and attorneys poised for election day
8 months ago

Trump campaign announces 100,000 poll watchers and attorneys poised for election day

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The …

Voting experts to guide new Wisconsin poll watcher rules
1 year, 10 months ago

Voting experts to guide new Wisconsin poll watcher rules

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A panel of voting experts and political party appointees will help the Wisconsin Election Commission rework its rules for poll watchers ahead of the 2024 presidential race, the commission said Thursday. Poll watchers, called election observers in Wisconsin, have complained that existing rules on how they can monitor voting sites are unclear and applied inconsistently across the …

Election Day is Nov. 8, but legal challenges already begin
2 years, 1 month ago

Election Day is Nov. 8, but legal challenges already begin

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Contesting an election that is clearly lost is now where all the incentive structure …

EXPLAINER: What to expect at polling places this year
2 years, 2 months ago

EXPLAINER: What to expect at polling places this year

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — This year’s midterms are playing out against the backdrop of former President Donald Trump’s persistent falsehoods about losing the 2020 election, a relentless campaign that will have implications for voters across the country as they cast their ballots. Their added workload also includes responding to a flurry of public records requests and sweeping challenges to thousands of …

‘Stop the steal’ poll watchers spark concern before US midterms
2 years, 2 months ago

‘Stop the steal’ poll watchers spark concern before US midterms

Al Jazeera  

A growing grassroots effort, led by prominent election deniers, has piqued worries of disruptions before November 8. “It’s astonishing to me to hear something like that.” As the United States enters the final stretch before November’s midterm elections, the Reuters news agency has documented multiple incidents of intimidation involving an expanding army of election observers, many of them recruited by …

Election officials worry about potential poll worker interference this November
2 years, 2 months ago

Election officials worry about potential poll worker interference this November

NPR  

Election officials worry about potential poll worker interference this November Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images America relies on hundreds of thousands of temporary workers to staff the polls during elections. "There is mounting concern that temporary election workers recruited and trained by organizations with nefarious intent may undermine security and trust in the election …

Election officials brace for confrontational poll watchers
2 years, 2 months ago

Election officials brace for confrontational poll watchers

Associated Press  

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — The situation with the poll watcher had gotten so bad that Anne Risku, the election director in North Carolina’s Wayne County, had to intervene via speakerphone. “What we want to do is make sure that we have people that are in the room that are going to be very respectful of the election officials at all times, …

Commission proposes review of Wisconsin poll observer rules
2 years, 3 months ago

Commission proposes review of Wisconsin poll observer rules

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Election Commission on Wednesday started the process of reviewing the rules for election observers, an issue that’s drawn attention and concern as Democrats and Republicans alike aggressively recruit partisan watchers to ensure election workers adhere to the law this November. Any new rules will not be in effect ahead of the November election, and the …

N. Carolina commission rejects restrictions on poll watchers
2 years, 3 months ago

N. Carolina commission rejects restrictions on poll watchers

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s Rules Review Commission has rejected two temporary rule changes recommended last week by the state Board of Elections that would have tightened restrictions for partisan poll watchers in the November elections. Though the elections board approved tightening restrictions on poll watchers with bipartisan support Aug. 16, the decision required final approval from the rules commission …

North Carolina tightens rules for partisan poll watchers
2 years, 4 months ago

North Carolina tightens rules for partisan poll watchers

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — After receiving more than a dozen reports of conduct violations by party-appointed poll watchers during the May primaries in North Carolina, the state elections board tightened regulations for precinct observers Tuesday to prevent partisan interference in the November general election. A survey of county elections directors in late May found violations in 15 North Carolina counties, where …

EXPLAINER: How a new GOP law in Texas makes voting harder
3 years, 3 months ago

EXPLAINER: How a new GOP law in Texas makes voting harder

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — The sweeping changes to Texas’ election code that GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday make it harder — sometimes even legally riskier — to cast a ballot in the state, which already has some of the nation’s most restrictive voting laws. As recently as 1962, Republican poll watchers in some parts of Texas challenged Black …

EXPLAINER: Details of the final version of Texas voting bill
3 years, 3 months ago

EXPLAINER: Details of the final version of Texas voting bill

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — The sweeping changes to Texas’ election code now awaiting GOP Gov. Here’s a closer look at what’s in the final version of the legislation: EMPOWERING POLL WATCHERS Some of the most significant changes in the Texas legislation concerns partisan poll watchers, the volunteers deployed by both major parties to observe voting and counting. As recently as 1962, …

EXPLAINER: What’s in the Texas GOP’s voting bills?
3 years, 5 months ago

EXPLAINER: What’s in the Texas GOP’s voting bills?

Associated Press  

The Texas voting bills that prompted state Democrats’ flight to Washington this week include a raft of tweaks and changes to the state’s election code. As recently as 1962, Republican poll watchers in some parts of Texas challenged Black and Latino voters to read and explain the U.S. Constitution before casting ballots as part of a campaign dubbed “Operation Eagle …

EXPLAINER: Why poll watcher complaints don’t amount to fraud
4 years, 1 month ago

EXPLAINER: Why poll watcher complaints don’t amount to fraud

Associated Press  

President Donald Trump’s legal allies have launched a flurry of lawsuits arguing that widespread fraud could have been committed because its poll watchers didn’t get proper access to the voting process. With a few reports of overly aggressive poll watchers, election officials said they were carefully balancing access with the need to minimize disruptions and social distance concerns over the …

GOP poll watchers not excluded from Michigan count: Witnesses
4 years, 1 month ago

GOP poll watchers not excluded from Michigan count: Witnesses

Al Jazeera  

United States President Donald Trump’s campaign filed a new lawsuit in the state of Michigan on Wednesday, alleging its poll watchers – known as “challengers” – were blocked from witnessing the ballot count at a convention centre in Detroit on November 4. At one point, they said Republican challengers in the room illegally chanted, “Stop the vote!” “I was in …

Fraud claims aimed in part at keeping Trump base loyal
4 years, 1 month ago

Fraud claims aimed in part at keeping Trump base loyal

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Trump campaign’s strategy to file a barrage of lawsuits challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s win is more about providing President Donald Trump with an off-ramp for a loss he can’t quite grasp and less about changing the election’s outcome, according to senior officials, campaign aides and allies who spoke to The Associated Press. Moments after the AP called …

Fraud claims aimed in part at keeping Trump base loyal
4 years, 1 month ago

Fraud claims aimed in part at keeping Trump base loyal

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. On Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” Sunday, Giuliani said two additional lawsuits were …

How The Trump Campaign And Supporters Are Trying To Affect State Ballot Counting
4 years, 1 month ago

How The Trump Campaign And Supporters Are Trying To Affect State Ballot Counting

NPR  

How The Trump Campaign And Supporters Are Trying To Affect State Ballot Counting MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: As we await results in this nail-biter of an election, as poll workers in key states keep counting ballots, they are doing so amid a crush of lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign. They're just trying to make sure that every ballot that …

Pennsylvania court allows Trump campaign 'poll watchers' to observe counting of votes
4 years, 1 month ago

Pennsylvania court allows Trump campaign 'poll watchers' to observe counting of votes

India Today  

Acting on a plea by US President Donald Trump's election campaign, a court in the American state of Pennsylvania has passed an order allowing 'poll watchers' to observe the counting of votes. As per the latest US media reports, Democrat challenger Joe Biden is leading in the race for 270 Electoral College votes with four states, namely Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia …

Trump ‘army’ of poll watchers led by veteran of fraud claims
4 years, 1 month ago

Trump ‘army’ of poll watchers led by veteran of fraud claims

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A veteran Republican operative who got his start in politics by helping to persuade a judge to throw out hundreds of mail-in ballots is organizing an “army” of volunteers for President Donald Trump’s campaign to monitor voting in Democratic-leaning areas on Tuesday. Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day Operations, is a former White House aide from Pennsylvania …

What are the rules around poll watching?
4 years, 2 months ago

What are the rules around poll watching?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — WHAT ARE THE RULES AROUND POLL WATCHING ON ELECTION DAY IN THE UNITED STATES? Nonpartisan poll watchers are trained to monitor polling places and local elections offices that tally the votes, looking for irregularities or ways to improve the system. Partisan poll watchers are those who favor particular parties, candidates or ballot propositions and monitor voting places and …

‘Army for Trump’ preps poll-watching operation, raising concerns
4 years, 2 months ago

‘Army for Trump’ preps poll-watching operation, raising concerns

Al Jazeera  

Some voting rights activists are concerned such encounters could escalate tensions among voters. Republicans are mobilising thousands of volunteers to watch early voting sites and ballot drop boxes leading up to November’s election, part of an effort to find evidence to back up President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated complaints about widespread voter fraud. Still, this year’s operation by the Trump campaign …

Trump's Calls For Poll Watchers Raise Fears About Voter Intimidation
4 years, 2 months ago

Trump's Calls For Poll Watchers Raise Fears About Voter Intimidation

NPR  

Trump's Calls For Poll Watchers Raise Fears About Voter Intimidation Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Concern is growing over potential confrontations at polling places due to deep partisan divides and baseless claims by President Trump that Democrats will "steal" the election. In Tuesday night's debate with Democrat Joe Biden, Trump …

Constraints gone, GOP ramps up effort to monitor voting
4 years, 4 months ago

Constraints gone, GOP ramps up effort to monitor voting

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — For years, the state of Pennsylvania has had strict rules about who can stand in polling stations and challenge the eligibility of voters. Meanwhile, the party has filed, or intervened in, lawsuits challenging election rules across the country, including cases in battleground states like Nevada, Wisconsin and Florida over laws related to absentee ballots and voting by mail. …

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