LANSING, Mich. — Election Day is less than a month away and election workers, volunteers, challengers and poll watchers are getting ready to perform their duties in the 2024 general election.
When you cast your ballot either absentee, or at an early voting site, or in-person on Election Day, election workers--either in employment by the state, a political party, organization, or even a volunteer--will be present at every polling location and vote counting site across the state.
But what is the difference between an election inspector, an election challenger and a poll watcher?
Michigan recognizes two types of election observers: Election challengers and poll watchers. Both types of election observers are not election workers and are not hired by the state or local clerks, where election inspectors are hired by local clerks.
We spoke with Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck about what each of these roles will do in the upcoming election in November.
Election Inspectors
How are election inspectors hired and trained?
Election inspectors are employees of the state and are hired by your local clerk and paid by the municipality they are serving in. Election inspectors need to be trained, certified and take an oath of office before they can do their work.
"[An election inspectors is] actually the person who has taken an oath of office to support the laws in the Constitution United States and the state of Michigan. They are hired by their city or township clerk, and they are trained in most cases by the county, but sometimes by the larger cities as well," said Roebuck.
These election inspectors go through a certification process every two years, in addition to the training ahead of elections.
"It's a pretty intensive, you know, baseline education on Michigan election law when it comes to the voting process, as well as a lot of procedural training that they go through in terms of how to operate equipment, what to do with any particular situation that may come up in the precinct," Roebuck added.
Election inspectors work in bipartisan teams at polling places and absent voter counter boards.
"These guys are Republican and Democratic election workers, and their responsibility at the end of the night is to seal up all the materials, the poll book with all of the list of voters, the ballots themselves, of course, have to be sealed into approved containers. Those seal numbers have to be recorded in multiple locations. They have to sign off on the fact that they, they did that work," Roebuck explained.
What do election inspectors do?
Two of the more important tasks of an election inspector are maintaining a political balance at the polls as well as maintaining order at the polls.
Election inspectors are expected to work in bipartisan teams and equally divide some duties, like assisting voters or sealing election materials, to "employ a check and balance procedure to protect the integrity of the election and eliminate any appearance of impropriety."
Election inspectors are also tasked with maintaining order at the polls by enforcing rules that prohibit electioneering at the polls, stopping voter intimidation, restricting photography and making sure election challengers and poll watchers are operating within the authority given to them.
The State of Michigan lists some of the other possible duties of an election inspector as:
- Prepare signage, materials and equipment before polls open
- Greet voters
- Process voters, resolving status flags usually due to incomplete/outdated voter registration
- information
- Serve as a liaison for challenges
- Check and enter information in the ePollbook
- Issue ballots to voters, including provisional ballots when necessary
- Assist voters, including individuals with disabilities, maintaining a “customer service” approach
- Facilitate curbside voting for voters who need that option
- Address tabulator issues, remaining at least 10 feet from it when in use
- Assist in providing a replacement ballot when a voter surrenders their spoiled ballot
- Process absentee ballots
- Close the polls, allowing anyone in line to vote
- Obtain vote totals
- Follow procedures to reconcile discrepancies
- Assist with proper recording, verification and final closing procedures
Election Challengers
Who appoints election challengers?
Election challengers are appointed by credentialing organizations in the state, like a political party, a political action committee or an election challenger will serve on behalf of the organization.
"Typically, it's the major two political parties in the state that appoint challengers, but definitely other organizations, such as League of Women Voters [or] Promote the Vote. There are other groups out there that can certainly appoint challengers," Roebuck said.
A credentialing organization must be one of the following, according to the state of Michigan:
- A political party eligible to appear on the ballot in Michigan
- An organized group of citizens interested in the passage or defeat of a ballot proposal being voted on at that election
- An organized group of citizens interested in preserving the purity of elections and guarding against the abuse of the elective franchise
- An incorporated organization
In order to serve as an election challenger, you must be a registered voter in Michigan, you must be credentialed for the current election and you cannot be serving as an election inspector or running for office during the same election.
What do election challengers do while the polls are open?
Election challengers can operate in polling places, early voting sites or absent voter ballot processing facilities. When operating at one of these locations, election challengers are given the power to challenge certain aspects of the election process, but there are also limitations to what they can do.
"Those individuals do have a little bit more authority, I should say, because they can actually sit behind the election inspectors as the election inspectors are doing their work, they can watch things. They cannot handle any election material, they cannot touch any election material and they cannot talk to voters, but a challenger can be present in the precinct, sort of observing that whole process," Roebuck said.
And in addition to observing the process, Roebuck said that in rare instances, an election challenger can challenge a voter's eligibility status for multiple reasons including if they are not a registered voter.
"A challenger can also challenge a voter's eligibility status based on the fact that they are not 18 years of age or older, that they're not a US citizen, or that they don't reside where they live. And so those are the three things that a challenger could potentially bring challenge for but most challengers are really just there to observe the process more closely," said Roebuck.
When a voter's eligibility is challenged, the election challenger discreetly announces their challenge to the election inspector at the site.
The Secretary of State's guidance on challenges also notes that "The challenger must make the challenge in a discrete manner not intended to embarrass the challenged voter, intimidate other voters, or otherwise disrupt the election process."
In order to actually challenge a voter's eligibility, the election challenger is tasked with being able to present some prior knowledge of that voter.
"This is why it's really, really rare. It's in Michigan election law, but it's certainly not something that is very common at all. And again, a challenger can never speak to a voter. So it's not like you're going to be walking into a polling location and a challenger is going to confront a voter in that situation," Roebuck explained.
Election challengers can also challenge procedural errors by election workers.
"So for example, if a challenger is in a precinct and notices that we are not asking voters for photo ID or that we are not offering, you know, instruction to voters on marking their ballots, something like that. That's on our end," Roebuck explained. "They can also procedurally challenge the election inspectors in that way. And quite often there's communication between the challenger and their organization, and then their organization may call, you know, a municipal clerk or our office and say, 'Hey, did you know this is happening?'"
Election challengers must also obey election inspectors when at a polling location, early voting site or absent voter ballot processing facility. These are the directions that inspectors can give challengers:
- Directing challengers on where to stand and how to conduct themselves in accordance with these instructions
- Directing challengers to cease any behavior prohibited by these instructions
- Directing challengers to cease any behavior that intimidates voters or disrupts the voting process
- Directing a challenger who violates these instructions to leave the polling place, early voting site, or absent voter ballot processing facility, or requesting that the local clerk or local law enforcement remove the challenger from the polling place, early voting site, or absent voter ballot processing facility.
What does a challenge from an election challenger look like?
When an election challenger sees something that they would like to challenge, they must first go to the election inspector and identify what the challenge is.
The election inspector has the option to determine if the challenge is impermissible, rejected or accepted.
If a challenge is accepted, the voter still gets to cast their ballot, but that challenge is still recorded to be reviewed later.
"The challenger would actually have to approach the chairperson of the precinct as an election inspector, identify what the challenge is. There's some documentation that has to be presented there. Challenger has to sign something, and then the voter still is voting their ballot, but that ballot is identified in a certain way, so that later on, if a court actually determines that the challenge was valid, then the vote can be removed from the total," Roebuck explained.
If a challenge is rejected, the election inspector and challengers still fill out some paperwork identifying the challenge and giving a reason for it as well as a reason for why it was rejected.
If a challenge is determined to be impermissible, it is because an election challenger made a challenge for a reason that isn't allowed.
According to the Secretary of State guidelines, election challengers are not allowed to challenge a voter's eligibility for the following reasons:
- The voter’s race or ethnic background;
- The voter’s sexual orientation or gender identity;
- The voter’s physical or mental disability;
- The voter’s inability to read, write, or speak English;
- The voter’s need for assistance in the voting process;
- The voter’s manner of dress;
- The voter’s support for or opposition to a candidate, political party, or ballot question;
- The appearance or the challenger’s impression of any of the above traits; or
- Any other characteristic or appearance of a characteristic that is not relevant to a person’s qualification to cast a ballot.
What do election challengers do after the polls close?
Election challengers are allowed to stay after the polls close and observe the closing process, the tabulation of ballots and they can view the vote totals. However, the election challengers have a very limited ability to challenge after the polls close.
"There's nothing they can do legally that would stop the closing process," said Roebuck. "And so the challengers and poll watchers can be present in the room while that [process] is happening and observe that sealing process. And so there's little that they can legally challenge in terms of, you know, that is not the place to challenge outcome or to challenge anything like that. But, they could observe a procedure maybe that wasn't happening appropriately, and report that up so that we could identify that as well."
Can anyone besides election challengers challenge a voter's eligibility?
Election inspectors and registered voters can also challenge a voter's eligibility at a polling location. Challenges by an election inspector work identically to how the process works for election challengers.
A registered voter at their polling location can also challenge another voter's eligibility. That process also works identically to how the process works for election challengers.
What else do election challengers do besides challenge?
Since most election challengers are credentialed by one of the two major parties in the state, they are also in communication with their parties throughout the election process.
Roebuck noted that Michigan elections were very public, meaning that much of the process is on the public record. Whether or not you have cast a ballot on or before Election Day is on public record and election challengers can use this information on Election Day.
"[Election challengers] can see the names of individuals who come in and vote. And quite often for political parties, this matters because while you're never identified in the voter rolls as belonging to any political party, because we don't have party registration in Michigan, the political parties do know who a lot of their folks are," Roebuck said.
"So if I'm in a precinct as a challenger, and I am checking off my names on a list of individuals, and I know, okay, these these guys have come in to vote, these people have still not been in to vote. So, the challengers will actually forward that information onto the political parties, and they can make phone calls and say, 'Hey, did you remember to get out and vote today?'"
Poll Watchers
Poll watchers are any member of the public that wants to view the election process at a voting location or an absent voter processing facility.
"That could be just an interested individual, could be a Boy Scout troop coming in to watch the voting process happen on Election Day, and any individual from the public could enter and observe in that way as a poll watcher, including after the polls have closed," explained Roebuck.
Polling locations and absent voter processing facilities have public viewing areas for poll watchers to observe the election process.
"We have public viewing areas that are required in every single voting location, and essentially this is just an area that is designated for members of the public to observe what's happening in a voting precinct," Roebuck said.
Poll watchers are not allowed to issue challenges, stand behind election inspectors as voters are processed or be present outside of a public viewing area.
Read the state's election observer instructions for both election challengers and poll watchers here.