States should prepare to protect voters from intimidation.
With less than a month remaining in the presidential campaign, the country faces the specter of a chaotic Election Day. President Donald Trump has urged his supporters to “go in to the polls and watch very carefully” — a suggestion that can be interpreted as a call for greater participation in the long-established practice of election observing, or as an appeal for Trump supporters to stage noisy rallies outside polling places, or both. Whatever the president’s intent, election officials should prepare for the worst. Without some precautions in place, a large mobilization of partisans could cause significant disruption at voting sites and undermine confidence in the election itself. The first priority is for states to enforce existing rules on poll watching, which has been part of the voting process since the birth of the republic. In most states, political parties are allowed to designate equal numbers of representatives to observe in-person voting, report irregularities and check the accuracy of results. Qualification requirements vary by state, but in most cases, poll watchers must be registered voters in the jurisdiction where they serve.
