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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Is 'poll watching' illegal?

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

By Lauralei Singsank

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Poll watchers—whose purpose is to ensure that their party or cause has a fair chance at winning an election—are generally legal, although qualifications vary by state.

In most states, poll watchers are appointed by political parties or campaigns to monitor election administrators, track their party's voter turnout and report issues to party or polling-place officials. In some states, watchers must wear a badge; in others, they must be registered voters. In North Carolina, poll watchers are not allowed to speak to voters. In California, they may speak to voters, but not about election-related issues. In some states, poll watchers can challenge a voter's eligibility but are otherwise not supposed to interfere in the electoral process.

The Trump campaign has assembled what it has claimed will be an "army" of 50,000-plus volunteers to poll watch in battleground states, Politico reported.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Conference of State Legislatures: Poll watchers and challengers

North Carolina: Poll watcher regulations

County of San Luis Obispo: Poll watcher policies

California Legislature: Intimidation of voters

Politico: Trump's call for poll workers

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.