KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Independence. Share your story idea with Claire
Do you feel like somebody is watching you at the polls? That is because they are; “they” being poll watchers.
The role of the poll watcher, called poll agents in Kansas, is very simple: watch polling operations with a close eye. They are there to spot any issues or law-breaking actions on Election Day.
These people do not just show up on Tuesday. They go through a process to be there and in Kansas, they go through background checks.
“They typically represent the political parties or are appointed by a candidate, if you're an elected official, like a precinct committee person, or if you're an elected candidate, you can be a poll agent, and those candidates can also assign poll agents,” said Fred Sherman,Johnson County, Kan. election commissioner.
Missouri and Kansas laws state what poll watchers can and cannot do.
They can be inside the polling location and can call out issues they see with the process for election officials to correct. They cannot interact with voters, touch ballots, or even be too close to a ballot or voter. They are merely there to observe, like watching officials count absentee ballots.
Sherman said in Kansas cases, poll agents show up close to the end of the day to watch the finishing process of tabulating votes.
“They're allowed to look at they can even take pictures of that [ticker] tape. They can't touch it or take it with them, but they're going to be very interested in terms of those contest results on that results tape at that polling site. So generally, those poll agents will get the results of the ballots cast at that polling site even before those results are transmitted back here to the election office,” said Sherman.
Poll agents and watchers are not required when holding an election, but they are allowed by law. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said having these extra eyes is another layer of transparency in how the state runs elections.
"I think the more eyes that we have, the more people that can say, ‘Oh, wait a minute. They are following the rules. They are checking ID. They are doing what they're supposed to do.’ The more confidence people can have, not that the candidates will actually do what they said they would do, but the more confidence they can have in the administration of the election,” said Ashcroft.
Poll watchers will have some badge or credential to show voters they are there to observe.