Poll watchers emerge as a flash point in battle
Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by the Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe the counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and they were committed to transparency.
Tasked this year with monitoring a record number of mail ballots, partisan poll watchers are designated by a political party or campaign to report any concerns they may have.
With a few reports of overly aggressive poll watchers, election officials said they were carefully balancing access with the need to minimize disruptions.
“There were certainly a lot of eyes on the process in every absentee counting board all across our state,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat and the state's top election official.
“I'm proud of how transparent and secure our process has been. I know that the truth is on our side here.”
Poll watchers have been a central element of legal battles that have erupted in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.
While counting was largely finished in Michigan, the work continued Thursday in Pennsylvania and Nevada where a narrow margin separated President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
Monitoring polling places and election offices is allowed in most states, but rules vary and there are certain limits to avoid any harassment or intimidation.
Monitors are not allowed to interfere with the conduct of the election and are
typically required to register in advance with the local election office.
In Nevada's most populous county, officials said poll watchers were allowed in designated areas, told to comply with social distancing and mask requirements and required to be escorted by county representatives.
“When they sign in, they have to agree to follow the rules that are guided by statute.
“If they don't follow the rules ... they will be removed from the location,” said Joe Gloria, the chief elections official in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.
The Trump campaign had sought to halt the counting of mail ballots in the county, saying observers were being kept too far away to be able to see if signatures matched voter registration records.
“With the issues that have been reported regarding the election, we are now more than ever concerned with the lack of the transparency in observing and challenging possible invalid ballots,” said Adam Laxalt, co-chair of the Trump campaign in Nevada.
That lawsuit was settled Thursday afternoon after election officials agreed to provide additional access at a ballot processing facility in Las Vegas.
In Pennsylvania, disputes over poll watchers were concentrated largely in Philadelphia, where the Trump campaign complained its observers could not get close enough to see whether mail-in ballot envelopes had signatures along with eligible voters' names and addresses. Ballots without that could be challenged or disqualified.
But Pennsylvania Secretary
of State Kathy Boockvar said the process is totally open.
“In Pennsylvania, every candidate and every political party is allowed to have an authorized representative in the room observing the process,” Boockvar said in an interview with CNN.
“Some jurisdictions including Philly are also livestreaming, so you can literally watch their counting process from anywhere in the world. It's very transparent.”
On Thursday, a state judge ordered Philadelphia officials to allow party and candidate observers to move closer to election workers processing mail- in ballots. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia board of elections said barriers were shifted in response to the order while the city appealed it.
Voting advocates noted the restrictions applied to both
Republican and Democratic poll watchers.
“There are specific rules in Pennsylvania about where poll watchers can stand and what they can do,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim director of Common Cause Pennsylvania.
“It applies to both parties equally. Everyone has the exact same access.
“This is not about disadvantaging one party over another.”
The number of poll watchers allowed at an election office varies. Some smaller offices might allow only a few inside, while larger ones could have dozens.
Also Thursday, a Michigan judge dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit over whether enough Republican poll watchers had access to the handling of absentee ballots.
Much of the dispute centered on Detroit, where absentee ballots were counted at a downtown convention center.
Some 134 counting boards were set up, and each party was allowed one poll watcher per board, according to City Clerk Janice Winfrey.
She said she was not aware of any Republican poll watchers being removed but noted some had been “very aggressive, trying to intimidate the poll workers and processors.”
Ray Wert, who volunteered as a Democratic poll watcher at the site, said he found a group of Republican supporters blocking the entrance and he observed police officers telling the crowd that no additional people were being let inside because there were equal numbers of partisan poll watchers.
“My concerns are that this is going to be used to delegitimize what is a very clear and very well-run process for counting these ballots,” Wert said.
ALABAMA Montgomery: The state is extending a public health order requiring face masks in public but lifting occupancy limits on many places as deaths and hospitalizations from the coronavirus pandemic worsen, officials said Thursday.
ALASKA Juneau: Hospital capacity is a concern as COVID-19 cases in the state rise, and testing isn’t keeping pace with new cases, the state health department reportedWednesday. In many cases, contact tracers haven’t been able to identify where a person got the virus, the department said, which suggests more unknown cases.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated. In what’s come to be known as #Sharpiegate, posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided voters with Sharpie pens, which interfered with ballots being recorded, specifically for President Donald Trump. Election officials say voting with a Sharpie would have no impact on tabulation machines.
ARKANSAS El Dorado: Voters in two counties have decided to keep Confederate monuments on display in public spaces. In Tuesday’s election, voters opted to keep monuments in place outside the Union County courthouse in El Dorado and the Ouachita County courthouse in Camden.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: Fresh from months of protests over the police killings of people of color and racial inequities in the criminal justice system, the state’s voters rejected an effort to roll back reforms targeting mass incarceration and reinstate tougher criminal penalties. But they also overturned a law that would have ended what critics call a predatory cash bail system.
COLORADO Denver: Hospitalizations from the coronavirus are expected to surpass the high levels seen in April in the next two or three days, state health officials saidWednesday.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Democrats were optimisticWednesday that they’ve substantially increased their ranks in the General Assembly following Tuesday’s elections.
DELAWARE Dover: City offices have closed temporarily after a few internal employees and their family members tested positive for the coronavirus, a city official said.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAWashington: D.C. residents have voted “yes” on Initiative 81, making possession and use of certain psychedelic plants, including magic mushrooms, the lowest enforcement priority for police. The initiative will now go to the DC Council for review, before being reviewed by Congress to officially make it law, WUSA-TV reports.
FLORIDA Orlando: The wealthy attorney who bankrolled campaigns to raise the state’s minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana says his electoral success in raising Florida’s starting pay to $15 an hour over the next six years is his swan song in the voter initiative process. Attorney John Morgan saidWednesday that he was done with efforts to amend the Florida Constitution.
GEORGIA Savannah: A prosecutor who was criticized for her office’s response to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery has been ousted by voters, who elected an independent candidate. District Attorney Jackie Johnson, a Republican, lost her reelection bid Tuesday.
HAWAII Hilo: A state law is needed to contend with people who ignore mask mandates, Gov. David Ige said.
IDAHO Boise: State education officials say so many people have applied for federal emergency money to help children learn during the pandemic that they’ll stop taking applications after Friday. The Strong Families, Strong Students program will provide up to $1,500 per child.
ILLINOIS Springfield: The state reported 7,538 new cases of coronavirus illnessWednesday, and the state public health director reminded residents that regardless of who the nation’s next president is, it’s up to individuals to stop the spread of the deadly diseases.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The day after a landslide reelection victory, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb said he’s not making any changes to policy on handling COVID-19, a major point of contention on the campaign trail.
IOWA Des Moines: Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday that she will institute a media campaign to encourage people to take action to reduce the state’s surging number of coronavirus infections but will not impose any mandates or enforce new rules. Reynolds also said the success of Republican candidates in the general election was proof that most Iowans support her decision to not require masks and quickly end most restrictions on businesses.
KANSAS Topeka: Several dozen hospitals reportedWednesday that they expect to deal with staffing shortages in the next week as the state continues to report an average of well over 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: The state’s budget situation appears solid enough to avoid cuts to state agencies or the Road Fund as revenues bounce back despite the pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear saidWednesday.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Even as his coronavirus restrictions are challenged in court, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that he’s extending a statewide mask mandate, business limitations and other rules he enacted to combat COVID-19 for another four weeks.
MAINE Portland: Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order Thursday requiring people to wear face coverings in public settings regardless of their ability to maintain physical distance from others.
MARYLAND Annapolis: Legalized sports betting in the state could start next summer after voters approved it Tuesday, but lawmakers still need to work out the details of how it will be implemented in the upcoming legislative session.
MASSACHUSETTS Springfield: Two former administrators of a veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges over their handling of the outbreak. Former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton entered the pleas during a remote hearing in Hampden Superior Court.
MICHIGAN Detroit: It doesn’t hurt to be a Hathaway to become a judge inWayne County. Nicholas Hathaway will join his wife as a judge on the Detroit-area Circuit Court after changing his last name to hers last year and narrowly winning election Tuesday. By blood or by marriage, at least 10 members of the Hathaway family have served asWayne County judges over the past two decades.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A couple is suing the Simpson County School District because they say their 9year-old daughter was told she could not wear a mask with the phrase “Jesus Loves Me.”
MISSOURI St. Charles: A suburban St. Louis election official who worked at a polling place on Election Day despite a positive test for the coronavirus has now died, raising concerns for the nearly 2,000 people who voted at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall.
MONTANA Great Falls: The fourmember staff of Pondera County’s health department has resigned, citing a lack of support by the county in fighting the coronavirus.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: The state’s voters set a turnout record in the 2020 general election, with nearly 74% of eligible voters casting a ballot, Nebraska’s top election official saidWednesday.
NEVADA Carson City: Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon won an open seat on the state Supreme Court after a race that drew more than $1 million in campaign contributions, more than any of Nevada’s legislative races.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state’s 13 mayors sent a letter to Gov. Chris Sununu onWednesday asking for help with a statewide strategy to assist the homeless, saying they were seeing an increase in people living without shelter even before the coronavirus pandemic.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: More than 4 million ballots were cast in this week’s presidential election in New Jersey, the most in state history, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Democrats have expanded their control of the Legislature, teeing up a progressive agenda that aims to broadly legalize marijuana, expand funding for universal prekindergarten programs and possibly enshrine abortion rights into state law.
NEW YORK New York: Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths prayed and sang together in post-election solidarity Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The budding interfaith coalition ritual was first held four years ago after Donald Trump was elected president.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: An elderly inmate with preexisting conditions and a positive coronavirus test has died, officials said. A news release from the N.C. Department of Public Safety said the 80year-old inmate died at the Central Prison hospital Tuesday.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Gov. Doug Burgum has no authority to appoint a coal company executive to fill a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the state’s attorney general saidWednesday. Burgum announcedWednesday that he was appointing BNI Energy President Wade Boeshans to the seat won Tuesday by David Andahl, who died last month from COVID-19.
OHIO Columbus: The number of people filing initial unemployment compensation claims spiked 21% over the past week as the economic impact of the pandemic continues to hit Ohio hard, the state human services agency said Thursday.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The last Democratic state lawmaker from a rural district of Oklahoma lost his reelection bid Tuesday, while the GOP picked up five more House seats to extend its advantage to 82-19. All of the 19 state House Democrats and nine Senate Democrats now represent urban areas.
OREGON Portland: Gov. Kate Brown saidWednesday that she would keep state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers under a unified command for another 48 hours in Portland, until 5 p.m. Friday, to handle protests amid uncertainty over the winner of the presidential election.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb declared victory in a Pittsburgh-area congressional district. The winners of four of Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional races, included Lamb’s, remained unclear, along with the makeup of a good chunk of the Legislature.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: State health officials reported more than 500 new cases of the coronavirus and eight additional deaths Thursday.
SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: The state’s first elected female sheriff, Kristin Graziano, hopes her win – and her vision for reshaping one of the largest local law enforcement agencies in the state – will open doors for women and girls. Graziano, a Democrat and deputy sheriff in Charleston County, won over a majority of voters, defeating her boss and 32-year Republican incumbent Al Cannon, whose record has been closely scrutinized as activists have raised calls for police reform in recent months.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Minnehaha County’s top election official has tested positive for the coronavirus just hours after wrapping up ballot counting. Auditor Bob Litz spent hours in close contact with dozens of election workers over two days. Litz donned a mask throughout counting but at times wore it improperly.
TENNESSEE Nashville: State officials say Tennessee has easily broken the 2008 record for voter turnout with more than 3 million ballots cast in this year’s general election. Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office said the turnout represents more than 68% of registered voters.
TEXAS Austin: More than 800 mail ballots were found in mail processing facilities in the state and delivered to county election officials between Tuesday andWednesday, according to the U.S. Postal Service.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A pickup truck crashed into a coronavirus testing site near the University of Utah on Thursday, injuring nine people and demolishing a medical trailer. Authorities say the driver may have suffered a medical problem.
VERMONT Winooski: Voters in this small city, which has one of the highest concentrations of new Americans and immigrants in Vermont, have decided to allow noncitizens the right to vote in local elections. The amendment to the the city charter now heads to the Legislature. If it passes and goes through another round of public input, the proposal moves to the governor for final approval.
VIRGINIA Roanoke: The lead partner in the Mountain Valley Pipeline venture has pushed back its expected completion date to the second half of 2021 and expects costs to rise.
WASHINGTON Republic: Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp lost his race Tuesday and now says he also has lost his job as police chief. In a Facebook video chat with supportersWednesday, Culp revealed that the City Council had defunded its one-person police department, “and away with that went my job.” Culp lost the governor’s race to Democratic incumbent Jay Inslee.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Republicans expanded their majorities in the Legislature after taking at least 10 seats from Democrats in Tuesday’s election. Enthusiasm for President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket helped solidify the Republican takeover in a state where labor-backed Democrats once reigned. Republican Gov. Jim Justice won reelection.
WISCONSIN Madison: State health officials reported nearly 6,000 new COVID-19 cases Thursday as the disease continues to run rampant. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 1,747 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as ofWednesday, including 360 patients in intensive care and 559 on ventilators.
WYOMING Laramie: City officials say a mask mandate is expected to go into effect Friday in Albany County to limit the spread of the coronavirus.