Numerous state laws and policies govern who can be a poll watcher, what they can do while they serve, and what election workers can do to prevent them from disrupting the voting process.
The 2020 and 2022 elections saw instances of poll watchers acting in disruptive, intrusive, or intimidating ways. Some groups saw this not as a problem but as an opportunity, and they pledged to recruit and train tens of thousands of poll watchers — sometimes suggesting that poll watchers push the boundaries of acceptable conduct.
Although a few states have recently changed their laws to empower poll watchers further, federal law is clear that intimidating voters or election workers is illegal, no matter who is doing it.
The resources below provide a detailed overview of the federal and state laws that serve as guardrails against poll watchers disrupting the voting process or intimidating voters or election workers. We focus on 10 states where the risk of disruption is especially high based on the volume of false allegations and anti-voter activity over the past few years.
