Poll watching is allowed in Texas, but tightly regulated

This is shaping up as the strangest election in a long time, with both parties are suggest members need to watch what happens at the polls. But that’s not as simple as it sounds.

Donald Trump is keeping up his claim that this election is being “rigged” and encouraging supporters to go “watch” the polls. So can you just go observe the election from inside polling places?

Here in Texas, you can’t be a poll watcher unless your party officially designates you. And significant restrictions come with the job.

“Go to your place and vote,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan at the end of September. “And go pick some other place and go sit there with your friends and make sure it’s on the up and up.

Trump has repeatedly claimed there are forces working against him in this election, and told supporters to make sure things aren’t being unduly influenced on election day.

“In Texas they’re called poll watchers,” Wise said, “and basically either a candidate or a party or a measure, campaign treasurer or assistant campaign treasurer, needs to appoint them.”

Wise said that by state law, there can be two poll watchers per party at any given polling site, seven in total per party in the county. They can move around from polling place to polling place throughout election day, but watching is all they’re really allowed to do.

“And what they do is they can watch, they can take notes,” Wise said. “They’re not allowed to have any recording device. They can take notes. They can only converse with the poll workers about any irregularity they may see.”

Most importantly, they’re not allowed to interfere with any voter that is accepted by poll workers.

“They cannot converse with a voter in any way,” Wise said. “And they can’t communicate even non-verbally about the election in any way, which I’m not sure how that would be. But that’s part of the law.”

If a poll watcher takes issue with a voter, then can take note of the issue – problems with birth dates, address or the like, and protest it after the ballot is cast. But again, it all has to be officially sanctioned with proper documentation, not just by showing up at the polls on election day.