US Midterms: The ‘Poll Watchers’ Are Observing

Ahead of the midterms, state election officials have been sounding the alarm about a growing cohort of election observers – some of them 2020 election deniers or conspiracy theorists – who they say have the potential to cause disturbances during voting.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Poll watchers have been a part of US elections since the 18th Century – they’re recruited by political parties, and are subject to state-level regulations.

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In recent months, however, officials in a number of states have pointed to multiple incidents of harassment, intimidation and disruption.

In Arizona, for example, it was reported that poll watchers had to be told to put away binoculars, were caught looking at private voter data, and were asked to stop making comments about “fraudulent elections”.

Election officials in North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado have reported similar concerns.

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And in Michigan, a coalition of right-wing groups has set up the so-called Michigan Election Protection Team – recruiting thousands of inspectors, both for the primary election in early August and for the November midterms.

Source:BBC 

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