Chapter 4 — Election Day.

Be The 800lb Gorilla

Who would have thought that a battleground of democracy would be where to put poll watchers?

Poll watchers have been told to sit in the back of the room, refused chairs, placed behind barriers, and even seated in other rooms.

Poll watchers are required "to station themselves in a position in the Polling Room [emphasis ours] as will enable them to observe the judges making the signature comparison between the voter application and the voter registration record card".

This means, that when setting up the Polling Place, the county clerk or the local board of elections must provide a place for the poll watchers. That place must be where the Election Judges' screen can be seen by the poll watcher with a clear view of the ballot application compare voter's signatures.

Chairs are not "election material", if there are chairs available you are free to place one where you can see the comparison of the signatures, but also see the ballot box, the voting booths and the rest of the room.

Remember that the election authority has no obligation to provide with a chair. You want to carry a folding chair in your car, just in case.

Keep your chair and yourself out of the way of the voters and the Election Judges.

4.A.7.a. Why Sit?

Sitting gives you a good level in which to observe the voters and the Election Judges.

4.A.7.b. Am I Required To Sit?

No.

No one can tell you that you have to sit.

No one can tell you that you must sit where you cannot observe the judge making signature comparisons. Or that you must sit where you cannot see the ballot box/tabulator. Or that you must sit where you cannot see the voting booths.

You stand when you challenge an Election Judge, both out of respect for the Election Judge and to emphasize your challenge.

You can move anywhere in the Polling Place, except:

• near the voting booths when there are voters in the voting booths, or
• near enough to the ballot box/tabulator to be able to read the ballot when the voter is at the ballot box/tabulator.

Also, if you are posing a challenge on behalf of a voter, you may want to stand next to the voter so that the voter can hear what you are saying without you having to shout.

4.A.7.c. What If There Is No Place To Sit?

If you present your credentials and:

• Are told to sit in another room, or
• Are told to sit in the back of the room, or
• Are told to sit where you cannot see the comparison of signatures, or
• Are told to sit where you cannot see the ballot box/tabulators and the voting booths, or
• Chairs are missing or restricted, or
• You find that the Polling Room is laid out so that there is no room or not enough room for poll watchers.

Then, immediately contact your team. If it is happening in one Polling Place, it is probably happening in other Polling Places.

Find a place where you can see the comparison of signatures and stay there until you get further instructions from your team.

Make sure that you are not in the way of voters or restricting the Election Judges in their work.

Do not argue with anyone, including Election Judges, but be firm that you have the right by law to be there.

4.A.7.d. The Number of Poll Watchers In the Polling Place

Nowhere in the statutes does the state give the power to the persons or group setting up the Polling Place, be it the county clerk or the election board, to decide how many poll watchers the Polling Place can accommodate.

Once the credentialed are in the Polling Place, it is the Election Judges, and only the Election Judges by majority vote, to decide whether the Polling Place is overcrowded.