North Carolina Election Integrity Team president Jim Womack conducts an online training session for volunteers to monitor voting as election observers, at the Republican Party headquarters for Lee County, in Sanford, North Carolina, U.S. October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
Republican Poll Watcher Training Raises Concerns Over Election Integrity
In the final days leading up to the November 5, 2024 election, Republican Party officials in North Carolina are training volunteers to take an assertive approach in monitoring polling stations, raising concerns among local election officials about potential disruptions. Jim Womack, chair of the Lee County Republican Party, conducted a training session for 40 volunteers, urging them to be “aggressive” in ensuring election integrity, despite the rare occurrence of voter fraud in the United States.
Call for Aggressive Election Monitoring
During a Zoom training session on October 16, Womack, a 69-year-old army veteran and retired information systems engineer, instructed participants on how to spot what he described as “nefarious activity” at polling stations. The session took place in a Republican Party office, featuring images of former President Donald Trump and a placard displaying an AR-15 rifle. Womack cited an example of a local clergyman who accompanied Latino parishioners to vote, likening it to “a shepherd leading a sheep.”
The session emphasized heightened scrutiny of voting activity, a move that has alarmed some local election officials. These officials are particularly concerned that such training may lead to voter intimidation and disrupt the polling process. The Lee County election board has implemented new measures, including increased privacy protections for voters, to safeguard against potential harassment at polling stations.
Concerns About Poll Watcher Conduct
Although Womack insists that his North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT) is simply adding additional oversight to ensure a fair election, election officials and voter rights advocates worry that aggressive poll-watching tactics could undermine confidence in the election results. Tammy Patrick, a former election official and current senior advisor at the National Association of Election Administrators, warned that such tactics could lay the groundwork for contesting the results if Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wins. Patrick suggested that casting doubt on the election’s integrity may be a strategy to justify future legal challenges.
The role of poll watchers has long been a part of the U.S. electoral process, with both parties traditionally deploying observers to monitor the voting process. However, the intensity of the current training and the focus on alleged voter fraud, despite its rarity, has raised concerns. The Democratic National Committee and the Harris campaign have stated they will deploy their own voter protection teams to ensure fair elections but have refrained from sharing specific details.
Focus on Alleged Noncitizen Voting
One key concern raised during the NCEIT training session was the potential for noncitizen voting, an issue frequently cited by former President Trump and other Republican leaders despite a lack of evidence. Trump has falsely claimed that noncitizens are being registered to vote, and Womack’s team addressed this topic in two planning calls. During one call, participants discussed how to identify “illegals,” with one person suggesting that voters who do not speak English may not have the right to vote. Womack later denied agreeing with this sentiment, stating that such remarks were corrected during the call.
Patrick Gannon, public information director for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, confirmed that there is no evidence of noncitizens attempting to influence elections. Nonetheless, NCEIT has expressed concerns about the inadvertent registration of noncitizens, particularly among the growing Hispanic population in North Carolina.
Poll Watching and Election Integrity Concerns
While Womack and his team maintain that their efforts are legal and focused on election integrity, some voter rights advocates argue that their actions could lead to the targeting of minority voters. Katelin Kaiser, policy director at Democracy North Carolina, expressed concern that rhetoric about noncitizens voting could be used to contest election results, particularly in close races.
NCEIT is affiliated with the Election Integrity Network (EIN), a group led by attorney Cleta Mitchell, who played a prominent role in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Womack regularly participates in EIN’s planning calls, alongside other Republican officials, and attends weekly meetings organized by the Republican Party’s election integrity unit. However, the Republican National Committee has distanced itself from groups like NCEIT, emphasizing that it trains its own poll watchers independently.
Safeguards Against Potential Intimidation
Election officials in Lee County have taken steps to mitigate the risk of poll watcher intimidation. These measures include installing curtains for voting booths, adding screen protectors to voting machines, and providing privacy sleeves for ballots. The concern over overly aggressive poll watchers stems from previous incidents in North Carolina, where 21 cases of poll watcher-related disruptions were reported during the 2022 midterm elections, including voter intimidation and interference.
Womack himself was involved in one such incident during the 2022 primaries, when he followed an election worker transporting ballot boxes to ensure their safe arrival. While he was not charged with any wrongdoing, the incident raised concerns about the potential for intimidation. In response, local election officials have asked law enforcement to be on standby during the upcoming election to ensure a safe and orderly process.
Broader Implications
The concerns raised in North Carolina are not unique. Across the country, election experts, including Andrew Garber from New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, are worried about the potential for voter intimidation and disruptions caused by overly zealous poll watchers. Garber emphasized that such tactics could slow down the voting process and undermine confidence in the electoral system.
As the November 5 election approaches, the balance between ensuring election integrity and preventing voter suppression remains a key challenge for both election officials and political parties.
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