Florida Election Observers: Rules and Constraints

Written and Published in Partnership with All Voting is Local.

Election observers, referred to as “poll watchers” and “observers” in Florida, are individuals who monitor polling places and ballot counting sites, respectively. While election observers play an important role in providing transparency, they can also be a potential source of disruption and intimidation. For this reason, all states have a series of rules and constraints regarding who can serve as election observers and what they can do. Florida’s rules on observers, which derive both from the state’s election code and from the Florida Division of Elections’ manual (which is codified in the state’s administrative code), are:

Appointment

• Poll watchers must be designated by a political candidate, the chair of the county executive committee of a political party, or the chair of a ballot measure committee at least 14 days before Election Day.footnote1_mnFo7j0KOMVHijWI47eC7PpnppdrcdLmz6fq6KIOZcc_l4wCtpmUieGA1 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(2). All designees are subject to approval by the relevant county’s supervisor of elections.footnote2_mnFo7j0KOMVHijWI47eC7PpnppdrcdLmz6fq6KIOZcc_gpCISZ1Gatm92 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(2).
• Candidates and law enforcement officers are ineligible to be designated as poll watchers.footnote3_CbNOxHsqfCBJ1v-krPDjHrsYg4GmLINmU79u3uQSI_dFJ9bOEhO8go3 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(3).
• Poll watchers must be registered voters of the county in which they serve.footnote4_TeEeimv8iPvs7VcK7UWAPp5ml-6kVjXqex7IrLuh4o_zwZPCksHWcYd4 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(1).
• Poll “observers” at vote-by-mail ballot counting sites must be candidates, political party officials, political committee officials, or authorized designees of those people or groups. They may observe vote-by-mail ballot canvassing upon request.footnote5_cKmEq9zmljs1pWSgxf9a8KfWZNbsDXJwD4fpxmFe8_kUOC6EhjZZ7K5 Fla. Stat. § 101.5614(4)(a).
• Members of the public may observe the ballot counting process but may not handle ballots or interfere with the orderly counting of ballots.footnote6_Vk40A-izdKpUYFQaLpbdNsJyf-coCJzOkN-xmweytc_bVtF7U6A0RPn6 Fla. Stat. § 101.5614(1).
• Members of the public may inspect sealed vote-by-mail envelopes and voter certificates, but must do so at a reasonable time and may not handle ballots.footnote7_wg3asMMdhGA-XqZ76FN4lnf4hkbvWr0nTidypoy0Jc_lZ0UZi4IwIvh7 Fla. Stat. § 101.572(1).

Role of Watchers and Observers

• Poll watchers observe the election process, including the voter check-in process and the general conduct of voters and election officials, but in doing so they may not obstruct the orderly conduct of the election.footnote8_uRItvIKqCwN—BAr-Yt6B9faTNQDFZIxmZu8F66eI_ocsSJScmDpRS8 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(1). See also Fla. Admin. Code R. 1S-2.034 at 14 (June 2024).
• Poll watchers wear badges that identify them by name.footnote9_JOl2lR23oBH2NdDH1FlepmsQ1Nj-DP5pOTFw0cgb8Q_jQg9UxtIJg7D9 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(5).
• Poll watchers are allowed to review the voting list, which is continuously updated by the election inspector at each precinct to track who has already voted.footnote10_CCOogGBji8FtovLxV815mFelKk9rmzpO62JpTCFrU_eXEy6ziQENYY10 Fla. Stat. § 101.23.
• Poll watchers can challenge a person’s eligibility to vote via a written and sworn form stating the grounds for the challenge, but frivolous challenges are a criminal offense.footnote11_iJ8tW4aJmhtAlxJUh5xYkxk2JlaSi5y2rK7PIrgxKvI_dh073LQVL02P11 Fla. Stat. § 101.111(1)(a), Fla. Stat. § 101.111(2). More information on the rules and constraints on voter eligibility challenges can be found here.
• Observers, after signing an affidavit swearing not to divulge any election results, must be able to see the markings on vote-by-mail ballots that are being duplicated because physical damage prevented a ballot-reading machine from reading them. Observers may make reasonable objections to ballot duplications, which the canvassing board resolves.footnote12_-sQhOn7x3E1ACn6RxF47dLoPL0V-Wt4bJCngt9qCxE_a1Xg1rBtLwNQ12 Fla. Stat. § 101.5614(4)(a).
• When election workers permit it, watchers may view vote-by-mail envelopes and voter signatures. They are not entitled to unlimited review but may receive reasonable access if time and the volume of ballots to process allow.footnote13_dVBvuHVTU41o1LQM2YqZmG1Zex9hrnIYCGtb0nsuY0_mfyIGDUL6nar13 Fla. Stat. § 101.572(2).

Prohibited Activities

• Obstruction: Watchers may not obstruct the orderly conduct of the election.footnote14_TeEeimv8iPvs7VcK7UWAPp5ml-6kVjXqex7IrLuh4o_mKhXvqav9GLB14 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(1).
• Voter Interaction: Poll watchers are not allowed to interact with voters in any way. They may direct questions or challenges only to the polling place’s clerk.footnote15_kbU3GPy7a825ZjGvhCBsHyicVaDqqYEClb9rWWkWVbA_l7qS4K24XaAu15 Fla. Stat. § 101.131(1).
• Solicitation: It is illegal for anyone (including poll watchers) to engage in any activity with the intent of influencing a voter within 150 feet of a polling place or secure ballot intake station, including wearing any campaign items.footnote16_7qXFktLgUjS2ls0qa9E9HP1FCAYsdk-eC5gr0Y26FJs_o5ZORf6KE2sI16 Fla. Stat. § 102.031(4)(a)-(b); Fla. Admin. Code R. 1S-2.034 at 12 (June 2024).
• Intimidation: Under Florida law, no one—including poll watchers—may directly or indirectly threaten through any tactic to use force, violence, or intimidation to persuade someone to vote or refrain from voting, vote for or against any candidate or issue, or refrain from acting as an election official or poll watcher.footnote17_hlzjPJ8wFwSKngC6qD7hxZNWCUTlbPpIzdhoGNsfhQ_pxvL4C0GVA6L17 Fla. Stat. § 104.0615(2).
• Carrying Weapons: No person, including poll watchers, may carry a weapon while at a polling place, even if they have a concealed carry license.footnote18_7mIb0523p7kbborTUTBqmnDcCjJzbCsJBhVVwImdE_pDmkxf2Dv9yA18 Fla. Stat. § 790.06(12)(a)(6).
• Photography: Florida law expressly prohibits all photography inside a polling place (except voters taking pictures of their own ballots).footnote19_RhFUfMVOt26C7bxRMGoKVBmLSIywQq1zIBld3M3k_dSMBFTaTPqta19 Fla. Stat. § 102.031(5).
• Campaign Items: Watchers are not allowed to wear campaign buttons, shirts, hats, or other campaign paraphernalia.footnote20_3dqlVhkWQQjOwQ1OKrPAXi5yg0-IvomVpVM6PWakZFE_jMlqyRO2PT7H20 Fla. Admin. Code R. 1S-2.034 at 15 (June 2024).
• Disruptive Use of Mobile Devices: In addition to photography, the manual clarifies that watchers are prohibited from making recordings of any kind inside the polling location. Watchers may use mobile electronic devices, but they may not take phone calls inside the polling location and their devices must be set on silent or vibrate.footnote21_3dqlVhkWQQjOwQ1OKrPAXi5yg0-IvomVpVM6PWakZFE_fpzrGfhVM3Cq21 Fla. Admin. Code R. 1S-2.034 at 15 (June 2024).

Federal and state law strictly prohibit all people, including observers, from engaging in voter intimidation. Any action that makes a voter feel intimidated, threatened, or coerced (including any effort to prevent a voter from registering to vote, voting, or voting for or against any candidate or ballot measure) could constitute voter intimidation, regardless of whether it breaks a specific rule.footnote22_G2cvvCOZAJxe6hEotWzYdvICR5oi3lxNNgjVHkzNU_z5OUarEUPIPo22 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 594; 52 U.S.C. § 10101(b); Fla. Stat. § 104.0615(2). More information on the federal and state laws that protect Florida voters from intimidation can be found here.

Removal

• Florida law vests poll workers and county supervisors of elections with “full authority” to take “any reasonable action necessary” to ensure that the polls remain safe and orderly.footnote23_WKjpF-NBTxnJd7y4YUtjhce53LqNW23Ndqla-LnGu0_tWFUYHzVDVb723 Fla. Stat. § 102.031(1).
• To empower poll workers to wield this authority, sheriffs are required to deputize a deputy sheriff for each polling place. The deputy is subject to all lawful commands from election workers and may call on bystanders for aid when necessary to maintain peace and order at the polls.footnote24_KVVGXE3CCSLsLTvrCpzu9aaUuKnmIavwrj7hTjN3aSo_sftnIah3CreC24 Fla. Stat. § 102.031(2).

• In addition to the deputy sheriff, the county supervisor of elections and the clerk of each polling place may call on law enforcement to remove disruptive or unruly people but should use sound judgment in deciding whether doing so is necessary.footnote25_GAKoEqxIDBy9fpPaAPd9lsTBF3pgM7iDKjTyErpSZw_d1g7idWgkxVY25 Fla. Stat. § 102.031(4)(c).