Poll workers

Wisconsin Passes Ban on Private Funding to Bolster Election Administration

Election Law Society · March 8, 2023 ·

By Blair Page

Since 2016, threats and attacks on poll workers have increased rapidly. Egged on by former President Trump and his supporters, poll workers have been threatened and bullied out of their jobs. States around the country have now found it hard to recruit and retain poll workers.

In response, outside organizations have stepped up, raising money to hire and train poll workers around the country. Most notably, basketball great LeBron James teamed up with other athletes to create, More Than A Vote, a multimillion dollar effort that netted some 10,000 poll workers around the country.

These outside groups place great importance on states that have a history of electing candidates from both parties, swing states as they are known.

Considering the increased scrutiny our elections have faced, swing states like Wisconsin are in greatest need of poll workers to ensure that elections are run smoothly.

In Wisconsin, an evenly divided state where elections are often decided by a few thousand out of millions cast, Republicans in the state legislature have banned state and local governments from soliciting and accepting outside funds for the purpose of election administration.

It appears this is in direct response to the efforts in 2020 by outside groups to make sure that polling places are sufficiently staffed to administer elections. Since 2020, nearly 20 states have passed legislation or enacted regulations that have banned private funding for election administration.

This ban an outside funding is the latest in a long line of undermining confidence in our elections by Wisconsin Republicans. Republicans attacked ballot drop boxes and the process for counting mail-in ballots during the 2020 election.

It should be noted that this GOP sponsored bill was passed over the veto of Democratic Governor Tony Evers. The veto override by the GOP controlled legislature is in large part due to the aggressive gerrymander of the state’s legislative districts. For example, in 2020 Republican State Assembly candidates received 53.8% of votes yet won 61/99 seats. In 2018 they received 44.8% of the vote yet won 63/99 seats.

While liberal-leaning or connected groups provided most of the funding to support recruiting and paying poll workers, and Republicans have argued that private funds undermine elections, there is no evidence to suggest that these poll workers improperly influenced the outcome in any jurisdiction.

With Wisconsin again facing very competitive elections for the U.S. Senate and Governorship, having the elections run smoothly will be essential to ensuring trust in the electoral process.

While the ban is in place, it is unclear if the state will step in and provide adequate funding, and localities will likely struggle to cover the cost. A group of Senate Democrats have proposed a bill that will provide $20 billion in federal funds to states for the purpose of election administration. The bill faces an uphill battle in that chamber.

With the 2022 mid-term elections quickly approaching, and polling suggesting competitive races across the country, it is vital that voters of all political persuasions to trust that elections are run fairly and properly.

New Jersey: An Experiment in Early Voting Expansion

Election Law Society · January 31, 2022 ·

By: Tim Intelisano

Earlier this year, New Jersey expanded in person early voting in the state. Now, that legislation was put to the test in the 2021 general election in early November.

Thus far, it has not been smooth sailing. For one, many counties struggled to recruit enough poll workers. This is an issue that other states, including Ohio, also bemoaned this year. The concern in New Jersey was so severe that newly re-elected Governor Phil Murphy used an executive order to raise the pay of election workers. The pay raise was modest—going from $200 to $300 dollars for a day’s work. It did not escape notice that workers in the June primary were paid $400 dollars for a day of service, though that higher award was attributed almost exclusively to the dangers and uncertainty around coronavirus. Additionally, Governor Murphy’s executive order also permitted poll workers to work outside of the county where they resided. Officials felt that this would be a useful tool for municipalities, since for unknown reasons some towns and counties just had an easier time signing up the requisite number of poll workers.

What You Need to Know About Election Observers in California

vebrankovic · October 30, 2020 ·

By: Josh Turiel

For over a century, election observers, also called poll watchers, have been keeping a vigilant eye on Americans as they cast their ballots. These volunteers observe election processes, particularly in-person voting and absentee ballot counting, to detect fraud and other irregularities. Although often affiliated with impartial civic-minded organizations or government election entities, the two major political parties also routinely employ election observers. Partisan observers were thrust into the spotlight when President Trump rallied his supporters, during a September 2020 nationally televised debate, to descend on polling places to monitor the election. Donald Trump, Jr. used social media to draft an “Army for Trump’s election security operation.” Meanwhile, Joe Biden has recruited over 10,000 volunteer election observers. This year’s hyper-partisanship has stoked fears that inexperienced election observers will sow conflict and chaos at the polls.

California counties establish their own policies for election observers (those who plan to observe a polling place should seek guidance from local election officials), but state law sets firm boundaries that provide voters with safe, unencumbered access to the voting booth (federal law is not discussed in this post). Most notably, it is a felony to use violence or coercion to intimidate or compel any person to vote, to not vote, or to vote for a particular candidate or ballot measure. This prohibition extends to hiring or arranging for someone else to engage in such behavior. Violators face up to three years imprisonment.

A new generation of poll workers

Election Law Society · February 13, 2012 ·

by Brooks C. Braun

On election day, November 8th, 2011, more than 30 students from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) worked as Officers of Election in Henrico County, VA on behalf of the Tidewater Roots Poll Project (TRPP). TRPP is a project organized by William & Mary students to inspire college students to make a commitment to civic duty and participatory democracy by becoming the next generation of Virginia poll volunteers. We sat down to talk with three of these students to hear what they had to say about their experience.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves and how you heard about TRPP.

TEREZA: My name is Tereza McInnes, I’m an international studies major at VCU and I heard about the Tidewater Roots Poll Project through a VCU e-mail. I was really interested in it because all I’ve heard is that it’s something that ‘old people do’ and I kinda wanted to see what exactly it was about. And I guess I also heard that, you know, there was money involved.

DAVID: My name is David, I’m a 28 year old full time student at VCU. I’m in my fifth year. I have a dual degree in criminal justice and psychology with a concentration in pre-physical therapy. I got an e-mail from VCU saying that they were recruiting. I get 15 to 20 e-mails a day so I just breezed through it and moved on to the next e-mail. Later, one of my other friends, Thomas Kidwell, said that he had spoken to you on campus. He mentioned the e-mail, at which point I went back to read it again. My interest was piqued so I went ahead and put my name in the pool.

GABRIELA: My name is Maria Gabriela Ochoa Perez. I’m a freshman at VCU and I’m studying communication arts. I’m 18. I was born in Venezuela and I became a citizen 2 years ago. I’m really interested in the governmental system here in America because I experienced firsthand in Venezuela what it was like under a less democratic system. I was introduced to the project by this interesting looking gentleman standing in the cold in front of the VCU commons one day. I had already tried to figuring out how to do that kind of thing; poll work. I remember having talked to my government teacher in high school about doing it. I just hadn’t yet taken the time to contact the Montgomery county registrar’s office to sign up. So I was really interested when that nice gentleman told me what TRPP was doing. I mean this is something totally different than just voting. Working at the polls puts you right in the middle of the process and enables you to learn more about it. [Read more…] about A new generation of poll workers

SC (voter id): “We do not have a constitutional right to buy Sudafed or be a frequent flier; we do have a constitutional right to vote.”

Election Law Society · October 28, 2011 ·

by Sheila Dugan

On May 11, 2011, the South Carolina General Assembly passed Act R54. The new law would require individuals to present photo identification to vote. Governor Nikki Haley signed the bill a week later. The Department of Justice has yet to pre-clear the new law, stating that it needs proof from South Carolina that Act R54 would not disenfranchise voters. Valid forms of identification include a South Carolina driver’s license, a passport, military identification, a voter registration card with a photograph, or another form of photographic identification from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Chris Whitmire, Director of Public Relations and Training at the South Carolina State Election Commission (SCSEC), spoke to me about the preparations taking place if the law is pre-cleared. These preparations include training county election officials, notifying registered voters without proper identification through direct mail, and a social media campaign about the new law. The General Assembly allocated $535,000 to the SCSEC for the voter education campaign and the creation of new voter registration cards that contain a photograph of the voter.

Registered voters would be able to obtain the new voter registration cards with the same documents they now use to register to vote (these include a photo ID or documents like a utility bill or pay stub with their address printed on it.) This makes the new identification easier to obtain than other government-issued forms of identification. Another unique feature of the new card is that it will not expire. [Read more…] about SC (voter id): “We do not have a constitutional right to buy Sudafed or be a frequent flier; we do have a constitutional right to vote.”