Explain to me how a "Poll Watcher" goes about hasseling

[mourningdove92]

a voter? I have never heard of such a thing. Of course, I live in Texas, and we tend to shoot people who f%$# with us. I mean, if someone came up to me and started questioning my right to vote, I would throw the biggest, loudest hissy fit you have ever seen. What exactly do they do? Do they approach people standing in line?

[Toots]

1. I believe there are laws about intimidating voters

If they are not officially sanctioned election judges then they have absolutely no authority or right to address you at all.

[AmerDem]

5. awesome graphics!

:toast:

[Wapsie B]

2. If something like that happens,

that poll watcher should be arrested.

[AP]

3. every state has diffferent rules. In OH, it looks like you can ask...

...anyone for any good reason to prove they're elligible to vote (picture ID + name is on roll?). However, the limitiation on that is that you can't challenge simply to slow up the polls. You have to have some other good reason.

So, you basically have to get it right every time you challenge someone. If anyone you challenge is in fact elligible to vote another poll watcher can point out that the first poll watcher is only trying to slow down the polling and the first poll watcher has to leave.

So, you need a Democratic poll watcher at every poll too.

[AmerDem]

4. Actually, I would be eagerly awaiting some repuke

trying to question me at the polling place. That would really make my day! :evilgrin:

[MidwestMomma]

6. I think the poll watcher hassles the voter by challenging the poll worker

Another thread explained that they will have lists of voters they say are not registered correctly and when that person shows up to voter, they will challenge the poll worker not to let that person vote.

I think they're evil plan is basically to make voting take longer for ALL the voters so people will get fed up and go home. Or cause such big delays that the polls close before all the working people can vote.

[sister moon]

8. Do you have early voting in your state(s)?

Take advantage of it if you do and encourage others to do the same. There's no guessing what fabricated "disaster" the pukes may come up with to halt the election. Can you say "red alert"?

[goddess40]

7. They just challange voters

They can say that they believe that this person doesn't have a right to vote.

It could get very ugly, that's why I keep pushing the phone numbers to call. Let those that are trained to handle this mess do it so we can keep the voting going as smoothly as possible. If a fight breaks out the republicans will be happy because that will interupt the process and that is their ultimate goal.

Call your local Dem headquarters, get the number ahead of time or
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) -It's a non-partisan hotline

[DCal]

9. To question someone's right to vote,

these people would have to be standing right at the table where the voter is trying to sign in. I have been an election officer several times and I would not tolerate having someone standing there in such an intimidating manner.

I would like to know, as the original post in this thread asked, how close to the table can they get? Can they sit at the table? Can they speak to the voter?

[Larry Tyler]

10. The rules for Poll Watchers.

A poll watcher is someone who is appointed by a candidate or a political party to observe the election day procedures in a precinct in South Carolina. The poll managers of the polling place will designate a place where watchers can remain throughout election day. Conversations between watchers and voters are not permitted within the polling place. Watchers will not be permitted to interfere with the orderly conduct of the election or influence any voter in the casting this ballot.
Qualifications

Must be a qualified voter in the county.
Present the poll manager with a letter signed by the candidate or by an appropriate party official stating that he/she is certified to act as a watcher in that precinct.
Wear a badge not to exceed 4 ¼" x 4 ¼", specifying the name of the candidate or party he/she represents.
Appointment

In a primary election each candidate may appoint one watcher for any polling place where his/her name is on the ballot.
In a general election each non-partisan, petition or announced write-in candidate may appoint one watcher for any polling place where his/her name is on the ballot.
All candidates of the same political party are jointly represented at any one voting place by no more than two watchers for each 1000 registered voters at the polling place.

[Larry Tyler]

11. Notice the key phrases

Conversations between watchers and voters are not permitted within the polling place


Watchers will not be permitted to interfere with the orderly conduct of the election or influence any voter in the casting this ballot

[DCal]

16. Thanks for the info.

Are the rules the same in Ohio?

[goddess40]

12. It will take a lot of work on the poll workers for each challenge

Reasons to challenge
-Citizen
-Age
-Voted already
-Felon
-not lived in the area long enough
-they've been adjudicated incompetent.

There are forms to fill out. Each has to take an oath, give information about themselves. The ballot has to be marked. Takes a lot of time.

The workers do have some discretion, but the process can still be negatively affected.

[NashVegas]

13. Here You Go

http://www.davidsongop.com/pollwatcher.htm

When you, as precinct leader, receive the last printout before the election, make certain that your card file is in alphabetical order and agrees with the printout. At this time the card file should be marked in some fashion to reflect "favorable voters." "Favorable voters" include Republican and unaffiliates you believe will vote Republican in the General Election.

Using the card file, put a check on the printout by the name of each favorable voter. Enter the phone number of that voter on the printout.

....


HOW DO YOU CHALLENGE?

Each challenge must be written. Include the name of the person challenged, the reason for the challenge, and you, the challenger, must sign it. The county clerk provides the Challenge Forms to the election officials. Be sure of your facts. The challenge must be made at the time the elector tries to vote. Remember you must challenge before the elector votes.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE WHEN THE CHALLENGE IS MADE?

The name of the prospective voter is called out by one of the election officials. Upon hearing the name, the poll watcher pulls the card from the file.

If the card indicates the voter is to be challenged or if the watcher has reason to suspect the validity of the voter, the watcher must immediately and without hesitation say (so the election official can hear), "I challenge this voter"

When the challenge occurs the election officials will take over. The election official will question the voter and enter the responses on the form. Both tire voter and the challenger will sign the form. If the voter refuses to answer the questions, the law requires that he or she be denied the right to vote. If the challenged voter answers the questions satisfactorily, the challenge may be withdrawn. If the challenge is not withdrawn, and the voter answers the questions satisfactorily and signs the form, only then will he/she be permitted to vote.

The above procedures should be followed for each and every challenged vote. It should be remembered that the challenge process is not frivolous or an arbitrary procedure. It is the legal means of assuring that elections will be honest.

Watchers should note on the card when the challenge was made and initial the note

DISABLED VOTER ASSISTANCE AT THE POLLS

If any registered elector shall declare under oath to the election officials that by reason of blindness or other physical inability to read or write, he or she is unable to prepare the ballot operate the voting machine without assistance; then he or she shall be entitled upon his or her request, to receive assistance from an election official or any other elector who may be selected by the disabled voter..

Sad to say, our county Dems have no such page on their site.

[bettyellen]

15. pollworker problems

In Hoboken, there has been a longstanding tradition of preventing challenges. It's an open secret that there's bag given out on of a couple thousand names of people who have moved out of town yet never stopped voting here. The votes are assorted 3 per card, each at a different polling place, and the voter goes from one polling place to the other until they vote all thre names. Many groups are escorted from one polling place to the next by a campaign worker. They actually have these people wearing badges with a number so they can verify they showed up at all three places. The going rate ten years ago was 50- 60$ to be paid for "campaign work" . A friend of mine actually saw/ heard the bag handoff for a mayoral election. The twist here is, the pollworkers are part of the scam (apparently they are where the names come from in the first place) and do what they can to prevent the challangers. They blast television sets, chatter loudly as the voter reads the name off the card, and speed them through so challangers have a great deal of difficulty doing their jobs. I know some tough people who wre quite overwhelmed by it. The pollworkers have been doing things like this for years. I knew quite a few people who went to vote and were told they had already voted. They have a history of keeping out new voters a few ways, they look them up in the wrong book "by accident" and tell you your not in there. This happened to me 4 years in a row. And then they throw out pages of new registrations. These are the pollworkers, and you couldn't get a spot working in the polls along side these people unless you registered as a republican because the Dems here prize the power of these jobs. They also pulled a fire alarm to shut down a busy poll site during it's morning rush, and in one case, a tampered with booth was delivered by the candidates father in law! The man who became mayor was eventually indicted, But not for this. I have heard that the FBI was investigating the voter fraud for years and I've never heard a thing come of it.
Just saying there are a lot of factors involved in what can happen at the polls depending on the particular town and it's history.

[tokenlib]

14. In '92 the repuke watcher whined about my Clinton t-shirt....

...which was UNDER my unzipped jacket. The poll worker blew the complaint off--as I did have my jacket on. But I wanted to ask the moron to step outside--but thought better of it.

[bleedingheart]

17. This is how we do it in PA

when you go to vote you have to state your full name...the poll watcher listens in to what you say to the poll worker...and uses that to mark off the fact that you voted...

we don't bother you...we don't question you....that's it.

[tblue37]

18. Federal election law forbids electioneering within

50 feet of the poll. But when they passed the early voter laws in various states, they forgot to include the 50-foot cone of protection, so partisans can get right up at you and badger you about voting for their candidate, right up till you walk into the voting booth.

Some voters have complained that even people in line to vote are demanding to know who they are voting for, and then if they don't say, or if they say the "wrong" candidate, are announcing that to other partisans who then badger and mock the voter.

Think if you were small, weak, old, or timid, and someone aggressive was badgering you about your vote. It could be quite frightening, and at the very least it would be extremely unpleasant.

I have read several reports about Bush voters who say that they are being hassled by Kerry partisans. I don't know how much of it I believe, since it is a typical Republican tactic to blame Dems for the sorts of things the Republicans are actually doing, or to try to make Dems look bad by claiming they are doing things they actually are not doing. Often Republicans play dirty tricks on themselves and then claim the Dems did it. That is a common Rove tactic to smear Dems and garner sympathy for Republicans.

However, I know there are plenty of thuggish people on both sides, even though I also know Republican thugs are more numerous and usually much worse.

If any Democratic partisans are doing this sort of thing, I would like to smack them upside the head, because it can only hurt our side.