Many heavily Dem city precincts have no Republican judges. None are willing to go into an unfamiliar high crime area. Dems legally act as both Dand R head and asst head judges. Fraudulent voting by these all dem judges for people who had not yet voted after the polls close is a huge area ripe for fraud. R must get pool watchers there, staying until the count is complete.
Everything you wrote is true about many inner city precincts and why Rs don’t go there...unfortunately. I was the 1st and only Rep judge in the history of the inner city precinct that I worked in for multiple elections. I never felt unsafe and most of my D workers were glad to have me there.
I would like to correct one things you said. There are poll watchers, and then there are poll workers. At least in my state, the poll workers (paid) are nominated by their party, get a nominal per diem. That’s the first line the party needs to fill because certain poll workers have a lot more “power” to enforce the election laws. Once those positions are filled, then work your way down to poll observers.