Posted on 11/01/2004 6:30:08 PM PST by NotchJohnson
Luckiy I don't live in Florida or Ohio so I may have an easy job watching voters and the poll managers. What tips can you suggest for a poll watcher to do the best job possible? I will be professional, of course. I just wanta heads up on anything possible.
Well, not sure about your state....but here is what we poll watchers in Missouri are saying are the key things to do
1. Make sure there are no unauthorized people in the polling areas (judges and authorized poll watchers only)
2. Make sure judges are checking IDs and voters are signing the register
3. Make sure judges are checking absentee ballot list (those that requested absentee ballots are not allowed to vote at the polling station even if they never sent in the absentee ballot)
4. Make sure that if someone votes a provisional ballot that they provisional ballot envelope is filled out completely and signed by 1 Republican judge and 1 democrate judge and that all applicable boxes are checked.
Other than that....keep an eye out on what people are wearing in the polling place. Law here in Missouri is that there is no electioneering within 25 feet of the polling place....that includes wearing Kerry/Bush t-shirts, buttons or stickers inside while they vote. If they do, they cannot vote until they either turn the shirt inside out or go home and change clothes.
That's all I got.
Then he said something that really startled me. His argument went something like this: Don't waste any time on races we will lose, especially the presidential race. That is a lost cause. We are going to lose nation-wide regardless of what happens here in Massachusetts.
If you see a person in the parking lot with a briefcase full of cash, be wary? ;-)
First get free samples, then make them leave.
Print out or otherwise get ahold of a copy of your state's electioneering law(s). Most states have limits (usually 250-500 feet) w/in range of the polling place where no campaigning, etc. can take place. Since Micheal Moore and the other scumbags of his ilk plan on filming the polling place lines, etc., around voting places, this could constitute electioneering or intimidation if they are chanting pro-Klown propaganda or bugging people in any way. Go to findlaw.com to find your state's law- the keyword for your search should be "electioneering" and/or "polling place".
This is good advice for all alert FreePers- if you have trouble finding your state's electioneering law, send me a private message and I can send it to you- I am a law student w/ access to an online legal subscription service called Westlaw that has every state's statutes for this type of thing. Anyone who needs their state's electioneering law can drop me a private message and I'll send it out to them via email.
All Freeper attorneys/law students out there should do the same, or maybe post htis stuff on a website if anyone has some spare bandwith avaialable.
Go Dubya!
Be suspicious of busloads of "voters" pulling up in the lot. Watch out for people in line attempting to disrupt the process, slow it down, etc.
I have some basic instructions. I just hope I can do well enough that not one c*#@su@%#@ voes illegally.
That is one thing they really stressed....polls close precisely at 7pm....no more no matter what after 7pm....no repeats of St. Louis in 2000.
I am scheduled to be a poll watcher tomorrow morning from 9-12 (have to work in the afternoon). Thanks for the tips, hope I can remember everything.
I also (I and my 6 kids) volunteered this evening at our local Repub headquarters, making calls to the party base. I made 111 calls and my 14-year old daughter made 50 calls. We did what we could. I tried to make sure each voter knew that their votes count and that each vote is necessary to win.
I must say, that I have enjoyed being thisclose to an election, epecially one of this importance. People, there is still time to do something tomorrow. Our county office still had HUNDREDS of people not yet called. Do you have a couple of hours to spare? Just show up and offer to make some calls. Energize you base, even at the last minute, to get our and vote. You can do it during the day tomorrow. JUST DO IT. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. DO IT FOR BUSH. DO IT FOR THE SOLIDERS. DO IT FOR 9/11. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Some precinct heads might try to permit late voters. If that happens, you can ask that late voters do provisional ballots.
Being a poll watcher is pure common sense...listen your heart and your head...if it doesn't look good to you, then odds are it's not good...challenge it until you're satisfied.
Great work on calling....if everyone you called votes tomorrow......Bush will win.
On to victory!!!
I was instructed by the Republican lawyers....absolutely no one that is not in line at 7pm can vote or I have to call the lawyers and they will come down and straighten things out.
I'm working the polls in Riverside CA. There are four of us. One person is in charge and the others have equal status. We do not know each others party affiliations. What's a democrat and republican judge?
As a poll watcher you should have received some information on what you can and cannot do. I'm really surprized that you didn't.
Here in Missouri, there is an election law that there must be an equal number of election judges....the ones who sit at the table and look at IDs and get people to sign the register.
If there are 4, then 2 have to be Republicans and 2 have to be democrats. All things have to be equal here.
I was wondering how they handled that. Do they post someone in line with a sign "Line Closed" or some such? Sorta like the approach at the supermarket checkout stands when the clerk puts a similar sign on the conveyor.
If so, I then imagine the "I'm JUST a minute late, surely you can . . ." line of baloney that ensues, followed by a "I've been disenfranchised!" complaint.
"Do they post someone in line with a sign "Line Closed" or some such?"
An election judges are instructed in their packets to post a judge at the end of the line at 7pm and not let anyone else in line. If the line is small enough, they are supposed to close and lock the door to the polling station and only those in line at 7pm can cast a vote.
I got information, I jsut was looking for any tips or personal knowledge.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.