Image Credit: Washington County Election Commission
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
Just as early voting kicked off, Washington County Poll Watchers reported certain limits being placed on their ability to effectively do their job as observers. This news report features first-hand accounts of their experience.
The primary complaint of certain Washington County Poll Watchers is not having full access “in and around the polling place” as state law prescribes, and Poll Watchers being sequestered to a specific location in the polling area that makes it very difficult to observe activity.
In one case a Poll Watcher from the citizens group East Tennessee Freedom reported that she was relegated to a chair with boundaries taped off on the floor at least 30 feet from activities.
Here are a few of the Poll Watcher statements made in preparation for this news report covering certain Washington County polling sites.
“The way the Poll Watchers are controlled to just sit there’s no way to provide a honest and integrity of the voting process. I feel like I’m wasting my time. With this being said after this election I’m retiring. I hope you don’t take this personal but one election I was told by the [Administrator of Elections] AOE that I couldn’t get no closer than 10 ft to a voter and now Poll Watchers are restricted. Yeah, today is my last day.” – said Mark Watkins, USAF, Retired
“This is useless. I am seated 30 feet away from everything and the officer is blocking the view. I tried to show the Officer of Elections the code, but she wouldn’t look at it. She just said, “uh uh”. Then I spoke with the Chairman of the Washington County Election Commission who happened to be at the polls, and he said he would call the Administrator of Elections. The AOE came to discuss and only offered to provide a form to file a complaint.” – said Danielle Goodrich, East Tennessee Freedom Founder
“[The] chair is about 10 ft away from Registrar, and able to hear a little bit, occasionally; only time can walk around is to go to the restroom or go outside for a break; There was another poll watcher there from a different group; we were both seated next to each other and didn’t walk around; chairs were about 10 ft from the Registrar tables; “we could see everything, and even hear some things being said” -said Marilyn Abbott
“This is my [second] day; I am stationed at the table where people do the initial check-in and can’t see any other aspect of the voting.” – said Liz Wilczak
“Well, it went very well. It is a ‘well-oiled machine’. The Officer was very helpful and very much involved in the whole process. No problems and the turnout was light in the afternoon. Not able to leave your seat, unless you need to use the restroom or go outside for a break. I got up once to check out an incident with wrong address of a voter. I asked the Officer if ok, and Officer said ‘no’. I remained seated the rest of the time.” – said Kay Copp
Tennessee law (T.C.A. § 2-7-102) prescribes in part, “Each political party and any organization of citizens interested in a question on the ballot or interested in preserving the purity of elections and in guarding against abuse of the elective franchise may appoint poll watchers.”
The relevant language in state code that authorizes Poll Watchers of all categories to observe polling place activities is as follows, “Poll watchers may be present during all proceedings at the polling place governed by this chapter. They may watch and inspect the performance in and around the polling place of all duties under this title. A watcher may, through the judges, challenge any person who offers to vote in the election. A watcher may also inspect all ballots while being called and counted and all tally sheets and poll lists during preparation and certification.”
The Tennessee Conservative News reached out to the Washington County, Tennessee Administrator of Elections at 1:52 PM on October 26, 2024, with questions concerning this issue and requested answers to a set of questions about poll watcher instructions. As of publication time, no response has been received.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
4 Responses
When are Republicans going to stop being nice? Having been a poll watcher previously I know my rights! Stop taking orders from partisan obstructionists! Call the county election commissioner if necessary and stop being intimidated!
yes!
i had tried to become a Poll Watcher in Sullivan County and was told that I would have to stand in one spot and could not move around or talk to anyone. I sent Mr. Booher the TCA that said differently but that did not make a bit of difference to him. He said if I wanted to walk around, observe, question things I saw I could do that as a poll worker. I did not want to be a poll worker but he was not budging on the fact that as a poll watcher I would not be effective but as a poll worker I could do a lot more. He totally disregarded the TCA. So I reluctantly agreed to be a poll worker. He sent me an application and I promptly returned it. And guess what…….I heard ZERO from them. Never was contacted to attend training or work at the polls. They obviously do not want people watching what goes on. TN being #1 only means we are the best of the worst when it comes to election fraud. It does not mean there is no election fraud taking place. It has been proven that in 2020 TN did have fraud and Sullivan County was rated as suspicious. While places like Rutherford County were found to clearly participated in questionable activities. When they compiled the results for every county in the US Rutherford County, TN was on the list of the top 100 counties for election fraud.
Per. https://bestneighborhood.org/conservative-vs-liberal-map-washington-county-tn/;
Compared to other nearby counties, Washington County has more democratic voters.