Red state watcher how to#

Many Republicans have started signing up to become poll watchers because they have been motivated by their belief in “the big steal,” says Daniel Ortiz, a law professor at the University of Virginia. Some question whether this new crop of poll watchers will be impartial witnesses. “They’re just observing and questioning things that don’t look right.” “I don’t think that poll watchers prevent fraud,” Jones says. Ned Jones, the election integrity director for the Virginia Project, tells TIME that their trainings have probably been attended by about 400 people across the state.

Red state watcher how to#

“At a minimum, poll watchers will be able to investigate, find something that’s suspicious and then send that up to the chain so we can determine whether that’s fraud,” he says.Ĭonservative groups like the Virginia Project, which works to mobilize Republicans but is not part of the official party apparatus, have also hosted virtual trainings on how to become a poll watcher and how to look for fraud.

The 2020 election helped spur that increase, Rastatter says, but he thinks there’s also a broader interest among people who sign up to ensure votes are counted accurately. Sean Rastatter, Fairfax County’s GOP’s first vice chairman, says the county recruited more than 800 poll watchers this year - a “significantly larger” number than years before. 27 interview with Real America’s Voice that if Youngkin lost it would be because “Democrats are committing election fraud.” Trump has also waded in, saying on Monday that he does not believe “in the integrity of Virginia’s elections.” Amanda Chase, a close ally of Youngkin, said in an Oct. He has personally expressed doubts about Virginia’s electoral process, and in particular whether voting machines can be trusted. Before securing his nomination, he refused to say whether Biden’s election was legitimate, though he has since acknowledged the president’s victory. Youngkin, the Republican candidate in Virginia’s race, has embraced election integrity as a theme in his own campaign. Last year, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel wrote in a Washington Post Op-Ed that the 2020 presidential race would be the first time in decades the Republican party could deploy an “army of poll watchers” the same way that Democrats do. Until 2018, a consent decree resulting from a case in which Democrats sued the RNC over alleged voter intimidation in a New Jersey governor’s race prevented the GOP from working with poll watchers for 38 years. The RNC encourages supporters to become poll watchers as one of the core tenets of its election integrity platform, which was launched during the 2020 race and has expanded to multiple states after Trump’s false claims that the presidential election was rigged. Observers expect that the spike in poll watcher numbers seen in Virginia could be replicated in races during next year’s midterms, sparking concerns about the new recruits’ neutrality and potential interference with election officials’ work. In Virginia alone, the Republican National Committee (RNC) says that it has so far trained 3,500 prospective poll watchers this year. See below for tips on preventing wildfires.But in the last year, the push for more poll watchers to closely observe elections has become a more prominent strategy of local, state and national branches of the Republican Party, which says they are imperative to ensure transparency in the voting process. One less spark could mean one less wildfire. It's important all residents and visitors take steps to prevent wildfires. CAL FIRE urges Californians to be extremely cautious, especially during periods of high fire danger. The type of weather patterns that can cause a watch or warning include low relative humidity, strong winds, dry fuels, the possibility of dry lightning strikes, or any combination of the above.ĭuring heightened fire danger, CAL FIRE will place additional firefighters on duty, staff more fire engines and keep more equipment on 24 hours a day to be able to respond to any new fires. A Fire Weather Watch is one level below a warning, but fire danger is still high. During these times extreme caution is urged by all residents, because a simple spark can cause a major wildfire. A Fire Weather Watch is issued when weather conditions could exist in the next 12-72 hours. The National Weather Service issues Red Flag Warnings & Fire Weather Watches to alert fire departments of the onset, or possible onset, of critical weather and dry conditions that could lead to rapid or dramatic increases in wildfire activity.Ī Red Flag Warning is issued for weather events which may result in extreme fire behavior that will occur within 24 hours.