Are people watching you vote? What partisan poll watchers can & can’t do in KS, MO
When Kansas and Missouri voters walk into a church, school or community center to cast their ballot this year, they will likely do so under the watchful eye of volunteer election observers.
Partisan poll watchers, some of whom may be armed, have been a part of U.S. elections since the 18th century. But this year, Republicans have ramped up their efforts to monitor the voting and canvassing processes.
Spurred on by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, 86% of Republicans and 58% of Americans overall worry the outcome of the vote may be illegitimate, according to recent polling from NPR/PBS News/Marist.
The Republican National Committee has vowed to deploy 100,000 volunteer poll watchers and attorneys to swing states to observe the vote and lodge legal challenges if they believe ballots have been mishandled or voter ID laws have not been properly enforced.
“In 2024 we’re going to beat the Democrats at their own game and the RNC legal team will be working tirelessly to ensure that elections officials follow the rules in administering elections,” RNC Chief Counsel Charlie Spies said in an April press release announcing the legal effort and recruiting observers.
Some Democratic leaders have expressed concerns that GOP poll-watching efforts will result in voter suppression. In 2018, the RNC was freed from a consent decree that had sharply limited its ability to challenge voters’ eligibility.
As reliably conservative states, Kansas and Missouri are not among those where the RNC has played an active role in training poll watchers. But local Republican and Democratic party leaders have taken it upon themselves to recruit and prepare volunteers ahead of Nov. 5.
What watchers can and can’t do
The rules for partisan observers vary from state to state. In Missouri and Kansas, watchers are allowed inside polling places but they can’t touch or handle ballots or obstruct voters from entering or exiting the polls.
Kansas law authorizes certain people to serve as “poll agents,” including candidates, write-in candidates with an affidavit on file, state and county party committee chairs and precinct committee members. Authorized poll agents can also designate one appointed poll agent for each precinct.
But spectators can’t just show up and expect to watch voting or vote-counting without the approval of local election officials. They can get that approval up to or on Election Day by filing an appointment form with the county election office, which will verify their eligibility.
Poll agents must wear a badge identifying them as an observer at all times. Agents may not approach within three feet of a voting booth or a table used by the election board. They can request to see a ballot during the initial canvass on Election Day.
“We just ask people to make a phone call and to note what they’re seeing,” said Maria Holiday, chair of the Johnson County Republican Party. “They can make a phone call. We’re not asking them to interfere in any way. We’ve told them specifically they’re not allowed to do that. They’re watchers.”
Holiday said her observers are trained to review their precinct’s vote tabulation counts and report them back to the party shortly before they’re posted to the county’s website. They’re also trained to flag suspicious behavior and any inconsistencies they witness, such as failure to accommodate voters’ requests for handling their ballot.
“We’ve had people that have been told, for instance, ‘Well, you can vote a paper ballot but then you put it through the tabulator’ when they’ve asked for a hand-count envelope,” Holiday said.
Melinda Lavon, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, said her poll agents will report any instances of potential voter intimidation through a party legal hotline.
“We talk about how it is legal to photograph or take video recordings but that could also intimidate some voters. So we have that on the list for making a report if that is occurring,” Lavon said. “Any kind of hostile treatment towards any of the poll workers we also want to know about. We’re just keeping an eye out for those types of issues.”
Missouri has two types of partisan observers — “poll watchers” and “poll challengers.”
Under state law, the chairs of all Democratic and Republican county committees can name one watcher and one challenger for each precinct and location where votes are counted.
Watchers can observe voting and the counting of absentee ballots but aren’t allowed to interact directly with voters or disrupt ballots being cast or counted. They can present complaints and irregularities to election judges on sight or raise grievances to the election authority.
“A watcher is just kind of standing there, and they can’t talk to the voters, but they’re just watching. Are the machines working? Are the lines long? Is anybody causing trouble at the poll?” said Loree Voigt, chair of the Cass County Democrats.
“Challengers” aren’t a particularly apt name for the other kind of partisan observer, Voigt said.
“They’re not challenging anything, really,” she said. “They’re just working for a campaign, more than likely.”
Challengers are allowed to keep track of and share information about who has and hasn’t voted at a particular precinct.
“They can, you know, see who voted, and then they can go out and tell whoever they’re reporting to what they know,” said Cass County Clerk Jeff Fletcher, who also chairs the Cass County Republican Committee.
Security at the polls
Voter intimidation is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in jail. It’s also a felony in both Missouri and Kansas.
Guns are not allowed at the polls in Missouri, but in Kansas, both voters and poll agents with a permit can carry a concealed firearm at some precincts. Polling locations at public schools, churches and other privately owned businesses where guns are barred year-round do not have to make a special exception for voting.
Missouri state Rep. Peggy McGaugh, a Carrollton Republican and former county clerk, said she’s heard elections clerks have been “put on alert about security” and underwent additional training ahead of the election.
“I think that it’s the other states in the union are the ones that have caused all the other states to have to amp up their procedures,” McGaugh said.
Representatives for the Kansas and Missouri Secretary of State offices told The Star they were not aware of any incidents of voter intimidation or suppression in 2020 or 2022.
“It is a volatile time, so yes, we are mindful of those types of situations occurring. We have no reports of them here in Missouri and we don’t expect any of that to be the case,” said JoDonn Chaney, a spokesperson for the Missouri Secretary of State Office.
He and Whitney Tempel, a spokesperson for the Kansas SOS office, agreed the best course of action for voters who feel intimidated at the polls is to alert the election judge on site.
Some local district attorneys have taken a proactive approach to ensuing voters feel safe. As in previous election cycles, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office plans to field calls on Election Day.
“We respond to calls and stay in touch with election officials. We’ll put out an alert to media about this and tell public about a phone number to call if they see irregularities,” said Michael Mansur, a spokesperson for Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
He said national elections generate more reports from voters and poll workers.
“It’s a range of minor issues, usually, like persons being too close to polls or sign issues,” Mansur said.
Electioneering laws prohibit people from advocating for or against any candidate or issue within 25 feet of a polling place in Missouri. In Kansas, no one can attempt to persuade voters within 250 feet of a precinct’s entrance.
Teresa Moore, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in a recent voting rights PSA on YouTube that people should report any potential election crimes to the FBI.
“If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or your local police immediately. If you think your or someone else’s voting rights have been violated, report that to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division,” Moore said.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 11:07 AM.
