What Do Survey Observers Do?

Unsurprisingly, this week’s presidential “debate” was rife with misinformation about the upcoming election, including President Trump’s unconfirmed claims of systematic electoral fraud by Democrats and poll observers “thrown out” of the polls. He continued to urge his supporters to follow the elections on their own – he had called for this before .

Regardless of his claims lacking conclusive evidence , poll observation doesn’t work that way. Guerrilla poll observers are a legitimate part of the voting process, but they are not random people who just wander into your polling station and are not allowed to intimidate you when you vote.

Each state has its own rules for polling observers, including how to comply with them and how they behave at the polling station. Here’s what you need to know.

Survey Observers Are Supporters

Poll observers, also called party citizen observers, are usually chosen by political parties to ensure that their party’s supporters have a chance to vote.

Survey observers to be appointed

There are rules prohibiting anyone from going to polling stations to observe. Depending on the state, poll observers may be nominated by candidates, a group of candidates, election commissions, or community organizations. Each state also has its own rules as to how many poll observers can be assigned to each candidate, party and polling station.

In some states, including Georgia, North Dakota, and South Carolina, survey monitors are required to wear badges with their names and organizations.

You must register to vote (in most places).

Additional precautions to prevent a flood of casual supporters at polling stations include requiring poll observers to be registered voters. Some states even require observers to be registered in the county or area in which they work.

However, there are a few exceptions. For example, Kansas allows workers between the ages of 14 and 17 who are not registered to vote.

Observers cannot interfere with voters

Poll watchers exist to observe. They can observe elections at polling stations and monitor voter turnout, which can help their party identify and contact supporters who have not yet voted. Election observers in some states may challenge the right of individual voters to participate in the formal process, but they cannot block or intimidate these voters, who are generally still allowed to vote with temporary ballots.

Surveillance of polls also occurs in states where voting is done primarily by mail. In Washington and Oregon, for example, observers are watching the ballot counting process.

Other types of election observers

Partisan election observers are not alone in observing polling stations. Non-partisan organizations and academic institutions also train people to monitor the integrity of voting processes. International students, non-partisan students, media representatives and federal observers may also be present at your polling station. If someone at the polling station prevents you from casting your vote, be it a poll worker or a pool observer, here’s what to do about it .