GAITHERSBURG, Md. 鈥斅燭he U.S. State Department may have dismissed Russia鈥檚 effort to monitor the upcoming general election as a publicity stunt, but a local elections board said聽it has a program that allows international guests to observe the voting process on Election Day.
Margie Roher, spokesman聽for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said聽giving international observers access to Election Day operations is not new.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity to give other countries insight into how things work, what a normal day鈥檚 operation is at the polling place鈥� on Election Day, she said.
Because elections officials are with the guests at the various polling places, members of the on-site operations聽can still do their jobs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a distraction for them, and we keep the groups small,鈥� Roher said.
Roher said聽she鈥檚 already got at least five requests, one from a group of 75 people. Large groups will be broken up into smaller cohorts, she said, so that Election Day operations are not disturbed and guests can have聽their questions answered.
According to the , the District of Columbia and 33 states allow for international observers to visit polling places.
Apart from the international observers, political campaigns or parties can assign people to serve as 鈥渃hallengers or watchers,鈥� but the role is strictly defined.
“If you want to be a challenger or watcher, you can contact the Maryland State Board of Elections, [and] they鈥檒l issue you a certificate,”聽Roher said.
While challengers and watchers have access to the polling place, they do have a number of rules they must follow. They have to keep their certificate with them.聽In addition, they聽are not allowed to聽carry campaign materials, a rule that聽includes wearing campaign gear such as聽hats or T-shirts.
Election Day challengers or watchers are also barred from trying to determine how a voter will vote, cannot talk to voters and cannot carry electronic devices or take pictures inside the polling place.
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