Army of poll watchers -- many driven by GOP's 'election integrity' push -- turns out across Virginia

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Loudoun County General Registrar Judy Brown doesn’t recall seeing many poll watchers during early voting last year — they usually turn up only on Election Day, primarily during presidential elections.

But that’s changed.

“This year,” she said, “we have had poll watchers here every day, all day long, watching the process of what’s going on.”

And in a county that has been trending blue for years, more poll watchers are wearing Republican badges, Brown said, often outnumbering Democrats 2 to 1 at each location. They observe the voter check-in and the ballot drop boxes. They have asked to observe election officers opening voting equipment. They watch as election officers report the vote tallies at the end of the night and ensure slates are blank when the polls open in the morning.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/10/27/virginia-poll-watchers-election/

Which is why mail in voting should be the standard.

[jimfields33]

2. I don't mind having the observers

Being against that indicates wanting to get away with something. We have clean elections on our side. The real question is why aren’t democratic supporters observing red state elections where there are real theft going on?

[FakeNoose]

3. As long as they can't interfere with anything

... I don't see how this is a bad thing.

When the Dems win, the poll watchers will have witnessed the entire show. How could they contest the results later?

[drray23]

14. very easily.

they will just claim to have seen irregularities completely misinterpreting what they saw. This happened in the 2020 elections. Those idiots did not bother learning what the procedures were and instead cried foul.

[lagomorph777]

20. Let them produce the video.

No video? No case.

[lagomorph777]

19. +1 I'm fine with it.

[Red Mountain]

5. Better there where they, in turn, are being watched

than campaigning.

[LiberalFighter]

6. Here in Indiana there can only be one pollwatcher from each party at a polling place.

[Captain Zero]

13. Right if one is there and another shows up

Then one of them has to leave.

Seems to me an overwhelming number of poll watchers begins to look intimidating to a poll worker.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Is it my freedom to say Fuck You to Nazi poll watchers?

Can I flip them off?

[ret5hd]

11. Yes.

[MagickMuffin]

18. Well I was an election Alternate Judge and got called a Nazi for telling he couldn't talk politics

within the polling room. He called me a Nazi and the republican judge did nothing to correct the situation. Luckily the guy (a biker) left but I was a little scared he would come back with a gun. Texan here, so I guess you can see why I would think that.


I continued working the elations up til 2016. After that no way no how will I work another election. And it's really a shame as I liked doing it. Candidate Barack Obama got me involved, and I was glad to learn about the system. More people should be required to learn how elections work and therefore they too would be well informed. We had to attend training EVERY election, if you didn't take the training no paycheck for you.


I had to help people vote for the tfg in 2016, they were the most ignorant people ever. They did not even know how to cast a ballot. Young, old (I've never voted before and I'm 80 yrs old types) voting in your PJ's and slippers, yep they were present and accounted for. At 3:00 cst DU went down and I saw this as a bad omen, I got that gut feeling things were going to be bad. At that time I decided I can't help ignorant people vote for ignorant people. Just can't do it.


And now with our states lax guns laws there will be a shooting somewhere down the road. I don't like thinking this way but . . . .

[cadoman]

8. we need to be out in force too to prevent violence or intimidation

I doubt a gqp is even capable of "observing" in a non violent fashion.

[mopinko]

9. hey, ya know what? a bunch of them will find out how elections really work.

good. let them get down on the ground, and see the sausage being made.
maybe then they'll believe it.

[brooklynite]

10. Poll watchers are legal

If the follow the rules, no problem. If they don't follow the rules, the Election officials can throw them out.

[OMGWTF]

12. 100% mail-in voting for so many reasons.

[lagomorph777]

21. We have that in VA - early, mail, drop box, or at the precinct on election day.

There were no creeps lurking around the drop box when I dropped off my ballot.

[Johnny2X2X]

15. How boring

Poll work is incredibly boring and tedious. Watching that work has to be mind numbingly boring.

[marmar]

16. Captured on camera:

[mcar]

17. I was a poll watcher in 2020

For both early voting and election day. I didn't see one Republican poll watcher (apparently there were a few) but they knew Rs would win in our county.

They observe the voter check-in and the ballot drop boxes. They have asked to observe election officers opening voting equipment. They watch as election officers report the vote tallies at the end of the night and ensure slates are blank when the polls open in the morning.

Unless the rules have changed or change, this is what poll watchers do. We had a team of lawyers available to report any discrepancies or issues. There were few.

The reality is that, until now, poll workers are veterans - they've been working elections for years and know what to do. Every poll worker I observed was professional and showed no bias. I fear that with the new laws and threats to underpaid, usually senior citizen, poll workers, they won't be back in '22.

[ForgedCrank]

22. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing if

all they are allowed to do is observe.
It takes away their option of screaming about non-existent "cheating" and "stolen" or "fraud" bullshit claims.
Let them watch