Don't worry about vigilante election observers

Jessie Balmert , jbalmert@enquirer.com
1:18 p.m. EDT October 25, 2016


(Photo: Matthew Berry, Eagle-Gazette)


COLUMBUS - Don't worry about vigilante election observers in Ohio.

State law would prohibit anyone from carrying a gun, stopping a voter from reaching the polling place or interfering with the election in any way.

Election observers – thousands of whom are expected to watch Ohio's polls – are to be seen and not heard. They can't take pictures, record video or even place a phone call inside the polling location.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has complained about widespread voter fraud, is recruiting election observers on his website: "Help me stop 'Crooked Hillary' from rigging this election!" Some worry this could lead to vigilantes intimidating voters at the ballot box.

“Trump said to watch your precincts. I’m going to go, for sure,” Steve Webb, a 61-year-old carpenter from Fairfield told the Boston Globe, at a recent rally at U.S. Bank Arena. “I’ll look for . . . well, it’s called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians.

People who can’t speak American. ... I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make them a little bit nervous.”

But any voter intimidation would be illegal, and political parties are condemning it.



"The simple act of going to the poll to challenge voters: You can’t do that," Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper said.

The Republican National Committee warned members in a letter to avoid any impropriety that might violate a 1982 court order, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under the decision, RNC members cannot prevent ethnic or racial minorities from voting through "ballot security" practices, such as having off-duty police officers monitor polling locations, which reportedly happened during the 1981 race for governor in New Jersey.

Not just anyone can stroll into a polling location on Election Day and act as an observer. In Ohio, you must be appointed by a political party, a group of five or more candidates or a committee with a measure on the ballot. The Ohio Republican Party, Ohio Democratic Party and county parties compile lists of observers, who must be submitted for approval by Friday.

Observers then take an oath not to delay voters or disclose how they voted. While watching, they can send text messages and emails, but they cannot take a phone call while in the polling place. They cannot even challenge possible election violations at the polls. They must contact board of elections officials or a judge to address any problems.

State law does not require observers to live in the county that they watch, but they must live in Ohio. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice appointed three people to oversee complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses across Ohio – standard protocol for federal elections.

But if you really want to ensure elections are fair, be a poll worker, Hamilton County Board of Election director Sherry Poland suggested.

"Be a part of the process. You can administer the election as a poll worker versus sitting on the sidelines," she said.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news...vers/92682904/