US Elections 2020: Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots

Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and y were committed to transparency.

Tasked this year with monitoring a record number of mail ballots, partisan poll watchers are designated by a political party or campaign to report any concerns y may have. With a few reports of overly aggressive poll watchers, election officials said y were carefully balancing access with need to minimize disruptions.

“re were certainly a lot of eyes on process in every absentee counting board all across our state,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat and state's top election official. “I’m proud of how transparent and secure our process has been. I kw that truth is on our side here.”

Poll watchers have been a central element of legal battles that have erupted in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada. While counting was largely finished in Michigan, work continued Thursday in Pennsylvania and Nevada where a narrow margin separated President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.

Monitoring polling places and election offices are allowed in most states, but rules vary and re are certain limits to avoid any harassment or intimidation. Monitors are t allowed to interfere with conduct of election and are typically required to register in advance with local election office.

In Nevada's most populous county, officials said poll watchers were allowed in designated areas, told to comply with social distancing and mask requirements and required to be escorted by county representatives.

“When y sign in, y have to agree to follow rules that are guided by statute. If y don’t follow rules ... y will be removed from location,” said Joe Gloria, chief elections official in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.

Trump campaign had sought to halt counting of mail ballots in county, saying observers were being kept too far away to be able to see if signatures matched voter registration records.

“With issues that have been reported regarding election, we are w more than ever concerned with lack of transparency in observing and challenging possible invalid ballots,” said Adam Laxalt, co-chair of Trump campaign in Nevada.

That lawsuit was settled Thursday afteron after election officials agreed to provide additional access at a ballot processing facility in Las Vegas.

In Pennsylvania, disputes over poll watchers were concentrated largely in Philadelphia, where Trump campaign complained its observers could t get close eugh to see wher mail-in ballot envelopes had signatures along with eligible voters' names and addresses.

Ballots without this information could be challenged or disqualified, but city officials said state election law allows poll watchers only to observe work and t audit it.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar defended process as open.

“In Pennsylvania, every candidate and every political party is allowed to have an authorized representative in room observing process,” Boockvar said in an interview with CNN. “Some jurisdictions including Philly are also live streaming, so you can literally watch ir counting process from anywhere in world. It's very transparent."

On Thursday, a state judge ordered Philadelphia officials to allow party and candidate observers to move closer to election workers processing mail-in ballots. A spokesperson for Philadelphia board of elections said barriers were shifted in response to order while city appealed it.

Later, a federal court in Philadelphia denied a Trump campaign bid to stop vote count over access issues, urging two sides to forge an agreement. U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond suggested each party be allowed 60 observers inside convention centre where ballots were being tallied.

Voting advocates ted restrictions applied to both Republican and Democratic poll watchers.

“re are specific rules in Pennsylvania about where poll watchers can stand and what y can do,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. “It applies to both parties equally. Everyone has exact same access. This is t about disadvantaging one party over ar.”

number of poll watchers allowed at an election office varies. Some smaller offices might allow only a few inside, while larger ones could have dozens.

Also Thursday, a Michigan judge dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit over wher eugh Republican poll watchers had access to handling of absentee ballots.

Much of dispute centred on Detroit, where absentee ballots were counted at a downtown convention centre. Some 134 counting boards were set up, and each party was allowed one poll watcher per board, according to City Clerk Janice Winfrey.

She said she was t aware of any Republican poll watchers being removed but ted some had been “very aggressive, trying to intimidate poll workers and processors.”

Ray Wert, who volunteered as a Democratic poll watcher at site, said he found a group of Republican supporters blocking entrance and he observed police officers telling crowd that additional people were being let inside because re were equal numbers of partisan poll watchers.

“My concerns are that this is going to be used to delegitimize what is a very clear and very well-run process for counting se ballots,” Wert said.

(Im: AP)