Pamela Conrad placed a clipboard above her head that read, “This is Election Protection. I'm a trained nonpartisan volunteer. I'm here to help.”
“I'm short,” Conrad said. “I like to put this on the top of my head and walk around. I've got a purple t-shirt that says exactly the same thing.”
Conrad participates in Election Protection through the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus. If you voted early this year at the Franklin County Board of Elections, you probably saw Election Protection volunteers outside. They answer voters’ questions and monitor polling places to see if things are running smoothly.
Franklin County Board of Elections Director Antone White said election observation is normal.
“I mean, voters should expect people to observe the elections. We're transparent,” White said.
The U.S. Department of Justice is set to send election monitors to Franklin County and two northeast Ohio counties on Tuesday. That’s part of a larger effort that the DOJ said will dispatch about 1,000 monitors to all 50 states on Election Day.
But being an "election observer" in Ohio can actually mean several different things. Some types of elections have more authority than others.
Political party observers
Political party observers, for example, are allowed inside polling places to watch officials carry out duties, including counting ballots.
Under Ohio law, political parties with candidates on the ballot or ballot issue committees can appoint one observer per polling location for early and day-of voting. The observers have to be registered Ohio voters, and they must notify their county board of elections office before arriving.
Political party observers are around pretty much every election.
Federal election observers
Then there are federal election observers.
“They're going to monitor for compliance with federal voting rights standards,” White said.
As of 2024, Congress can legally send observers to watch all stages of the election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
White is not expecting congressional monitors to come to Franklin County this year.
The DOJ can send observers with authority to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws, but only to certain places that have agreed to that as part of a lawsuit or settlement. None of those places are in Ohio.
The DOJ, however, has a history of sending civilian staff watchers to polls across the country. Former president Joe Biden’s Justice Department sent out close to 400 election monitors nationwide in 2022. DOJ watchers have also visited Franklin County before, though White said that was more than a decade ago.
These are the people coming to some of Franklin County’s polling locations on Tuesday. White says they’ll be in plain clothes but will likely carry credentials.
“They are not permitted inside, (but) they are permitted to observe from outside behind the 100-foot campaign barrier,” White said.
"Voters should feel confident that they can go to the polling location on election day, cast their ballot, and not have any problems or concerns."- Franklin County Board of Elections Director Antone White
Citizen poll monitors
The DOJ watchers have about the same amount of authority as Conrad and her friends in purple, who also have to stay outside.
And voters are more likely to notice Conrad. Especially when she says things like:
“I don't care who you vote for. I don’t care if you’re an Indiana fan. I don't care if you're a Notre Dame fan. I don't even care if you’re a Michigan fan. You all have the constitutional right to vote.”
Conrad said she doesn’t speak for Election Protection or the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, but she called the organizations “scrupulously nonpartisan.”
She said volunteers check whether polling locations open on time and if they’re accessible. They note if lines become excessively long. They also keep an eye on campaigning to make sure it’s happening far enough away from the building.
If they see a problem, they take meticulous notes and report back to their organization.
Conrad also answers basic voting questions.
“Questions like, what kind of identification do I need?” Conrad said.
She said that since Ohio’s I.D. laws have recently changed, that’s a common question. She also often explains to voters that the address on their drivers’ license doesn’t have to match where they are registered to vote. She tells them that if they requested a mail ballot then decided to vote in person, they’ll have to cast a provisional ballot.
Conrad doesn’t hang out at the polls because she expects trouble. She believes that elections in the United States are some of the most secure in the world.
“We essentially are here to make sure that the very, very good reputation of the American voting system is maintained,” Conrad said.
Voting with confidence
Observers like Conrad, the party appointees, and the DOJ, are not allowed to challenge voter eligibility or interfere with elections.
White is expecting more observers this election than in years past because Ohio has highly contested, close races for governor and U.S. Senate. He said that won’t change how poll workers operate and it shouldn’t deter voters.
“Voters should feel confident that they can go to the polling location on Election Day, cast their ballot and not have any problems or concerns,” White said.
There is one more type of poll monitor to look out for: the media. Credentialed journalists are typically allowed both outside and inside of polling locations to report on the election.
So if you’re voting in Franklin County on Tuesday, keep an eye out for WOSU.
