The Pennsylvania Democratic Party may be illegally recruiting out-of-state poll watchers, according to a letter sent Thursday from the Republican National Committee (RNC), which flags “misinformation” on the state party’s website.
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s website says that any poll watchers who are recruited must be physically present in the state to work, but that they “do not necessarily have to be PA voters.” The state party’s guidance contradicts Pennsylvania state law that requires poll watchers to be “a qualified registered elector of the county” where the polling is taking place, according to the RNC letter.
“That’s a completely inaccurate statement regarding Pennsylvania poll watchers,” Linda A. Kerns, Pennsylvania election integrity counsel for the RNC, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Our law is extremely strict on that. A candidate can’t even enter the polling place unless he’s actually there to vote. If you want to be a poll watcher, you have to be a resident of the county where that district is.”
“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is soliciting individuals to violate state law,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow and manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, told the DCNF.
Not only did the RNC dispute the legality of these guidelines in the letter, but they also claimed that recruiting poll watchers based on their restrictions could interfere with the legitimacy of the election results.
The presidential race is particularly close in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, with former President Donald Trump polling just 0.1 points ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to RealClearPolitics averages of polls from July 22 to Aug. 28. Most recently, the two candidates tied in the Rust Belt state with Harris and Trump at 48%, according to an Emerson College/Hill poll from Thursday.
“It’s incorrect, and the last thing voters need is to have incorrect information like that spread,” Kern told the DCNF. “And I think that the Democrats know that. People have the right to go to their polling place and have it be a smooth experience. That’s what our laws are designed for.”
“The misinformation on the PA Dems’ website threatens the integrity of November’s general election,” the letter reads. “The Democratic Party cannot be permitted to recruit poll watchers in violation of the law and flood polling places with unqualified out-of-state poll watchers across the Commonwealth. We urge your office to issue a public statement clarifying that poll watchers must be registered voters in the counties in which they serve as poll watchers.”
Pennsylvania has the largest electoral count out of all seven battleground states with 19 electors. President Joe Biden, Trump and former President Barack Obama all secured their presidencies with the help of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.
The RNC also expressed concern in the letter about the Pennsylvania Democrats’ statements on their website about “early vote monitors,” who are responsible for assisting “voters outside Boards of Election and satellite locations during voting.” The RNC asserted that the recruitment of these “early vote monitors” could “threaten chaos” at these election offices and risk the opportunity for monitors to “engage in observation of voting activities.”
“This is an egregious misstatement of Pennsylvania election law,” the letter reads. “For the benefit of all candidates and political parties, please clarify the scope of permissible activities with respect to observation at satellite election offices and whether the PA Dems’ proposed activities are consistent with the position you took as a Commissioner in Philadelphia.”
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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