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Poll Watching is Critical! |
Maryland law allows individuals to be poll watchers inside and outside
the polling site. Both are vital components in our data-collection
process. Below is a brief description of the different duties for
inside and outside poll watchers. We are working with the Pollworkers for
Democracy project to recruit poll watchers, and training sessions
are still available. There are also training materials posted
here for you to review if you decide not to register with the project
and/or cannot attend any training session. Please let us know your
precinct number and name where you intend to poll watch. And don’t
forget to call the TrueVoteMD Election Day Hotline with any
observations during the day.
Inside the Polling Site
If you would like to observe Election Day inside, you will need to get
a credential form from us. Inside poll watching has some limitations,
in that you cannot speak to any voter. You can however observe how
Election Judges handle issues as they come up, especially as they
relate to voter check-in and machine malfunctions or failures. We are
in particular need of volunteers who are willing to observe poll
opening (6:30am) and poll closing (8pm) procedures. The training
materials below entitled Guidelines for Inside Poll Watchers address
everything you need to know to be an inside poll watcher.
Outside the Polling Site
Outside poll watchers are important because they can speak to voters as
they enter and exit the polling site and encourage them to report any
problems they experienced while trying to vote. You do not need a
credential to be an outside poll watcher. The training materials below
entitled Guidelines for Outside Poll Watchers address everything you
need to know to be outside poll watcher.
Guidelines
for Inside Poll Watchers
Guidelines
for Outside Poll Watchers
Nov
2006 Incident Report Form
Report Problems with the Machines!
More training materials to come!
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