Historically, many poll workers have been retirees who come back election after election, and both parties at the local level have traditionally worked with election officials to staff their precincts.
What’s different is the messaging, both to recruits and to party backers, about the reasons for the plan. While Democrats have set up legal hotlines and mobilized volunteers by stressing a need to help those denied a chance to vote, the Republican operation is centered on challenging ballots, spotting potential fraud — and for poll watchers, reporting those concerns directly to party attorneys on Election Day, according to the RNC.
That worries advocates and some election officials, who say the intense focus on fraud could cause problems at voting sites.
“People shouldn’t have a vested interest one way or another when doing the work of an election inspector,” said Claire Woodall-Vogg, the nonpartisan executive director of Milwaukee’s Election Commission, which received a record number of poll worker appointments from both parties this cycle. “The concern is if they understand that when they’re on the job they should check their politics at the door.”
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