Shouldn't Poll Workers Have a Bill of Rights?

If you haven’t heard that there are issues related to poll workers being concerned about their safety then you really haven’t been paying attention. With the 2022 Midterm Elections approaching in about three weeks there are a variety of issues surrounding the elections and poll workers that stem from the dysfunctional and divisive politics encouraged by politicians. There are concerns about not having enough poll workers to properly conduct the voting and tabulation processes. There are concerns by various groups that the poll workers will ‘interfere’ in the election despite a lack of credible evidence of such abuses, the presence of poll-watchers to observe the processes, and the party responsible for the election and polling processes usually being the party that was responsible for the processes to begin with. And sadly, there are now substantive concerns now regarding the safety of the polling locations, the voters who will go to polling places, and for the workers at the polling locations.

This isn’t the first time that there have been groups which have worked to threaten and endanger the public, the poll workers, and the nation. Many previous incidents were related to suppressing the act of voting itself by some group which was viewed as a threat to a politician or political party. Congress has even passed legislation in the past specifically because of this undemocratic behavior on the part of a political party. Not surprisingly, politicians continue to seek ways to bias elections. After all, what patriot would trust a politician? Any politician of any party? We have legislatures today seeking to empower themselves with the ability to overrule the results of an election. What possible harm could come from individuals sitting in elected office deciding if votes are to be counted?

In the 2022 Midterms, and assuredly we will see the same in the 2024 election, there are groups and individuals seeking to interfere in the elections, and even to threaten citizens who are performing the civic duty of being a poll worker. Poll workers are justifiably concerned about their personal safety and that of the public’s. In light of the threats and of actions by groups after the 2020 elections, the poll workers and the public are rightly concerned.

Given the critical dependence of our democracy upon elections that we can rely upon, a necessary requirement is that the poll workers and their tasks are not interfered with nor placed at risk. To that end, it seems prudent that we establish a “Poll Workers’ Bill of Rights” (PW-BoR). This PW-BoR would provide some simple requirements pertaining to what the poll workers are to receive and what penalties are imposed upon anyone who interferes with or threatens a poll worker in their doing their job. This PW-BoR would also help protect the public and the election processes.

What would be the nature of the PW-BoR? It would be a set of legal requirements, regulations, and laws that establish the responsibility of states to implement and follow. Included in these items, but not restricted to them, would be:

1. All persons that are performing any function at the polling location must be registered, their identify verified, and be provided with a visible Identification tag to be displayed within the polling location. This would apply to poll workers, any federal/state/local officials or administrators, law-enforcement personnel, poll watchers, and any other individuals whose purpose for being in the poll location is other than being a voter actively waiting to or in the process of voting. Upon completion of voting, voters must leave the polling location.

2. Poll workers cannot be interfered with by poll watchers in any manner. Poll watchers can only interact with polling location officials/administrators regarding any question, concern, or issue that they have. All questions, concerns, and issues are to be recorded by the official including a video image of the poll watcher with their ID. If the official deems it appropriate, they can engage the poll worker in responding to the question, concern, or issue.

3. Any threat against a poll worker or their family in regards to their duties as a poll worker would be a felony.

4. Video recordings at a polling location can only be made by the officials. No other person or group can record activities, person, or information at the polling location without written permission of the managing official. A requirement on anyone making recordings must provide a copy of the video prior to leaving, and sign and attest that the copy provided represents the ‘official’ recording. Any declaration made by the individual who recorded the video which is shown to differ from the ‘official’ recording will be a felony punishable by imprisonment of no less than 4 years and fines no less than $100,000.00. If they provide copies of the video to anyone else that individual or entity must sign an agreement that they will not alter the video in any manner and accept the same accountability under the law based upon every individual to whom they present the video.

5. Any individual who interferes with the processes at a polling location will be in violation of federal law and with state law and can be prosecuted under each or either.

There are probably a number of other requirements that would be added by legislatures that would have to enact this PW-BoR. The problem of course is that there would likely be many efforts to reduce, eliminate, and weaken these laws. It’s what politicians do so that their interests are given precedence over the public’s and the nation’s.

If you want to protect our democracy, you must protect our elections. If your definition of protecting elections is to enable those in power to decide the outcome of the vote, then you have betrayed America and act treasonously. Of course, you won’t be the first and you won’t be the last to fail our American values, but you might just be the tipping point.