The presence of poll watchers at Washington County election sites who checked whether those who voted were actually eligible voters during the primary election on June 14 is part of a nationwide effort by the Republican Party to check on the integrity of elections and also to potentially overturn votes in Democratic areas. The effort by the GOP to recruit both poll watchers and poll workers to question elections and voter registration has raised some concerns, both locally and nationally.
      According to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State, which oversees elections, there is little reason to suspect any voter fraud in state elections. Concerning the integrity of elections in Maine, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says, "It's always upsetting when lies are spread about our elections, and disinformation often leads to threats against election workers. That's why the Maine legislature passed a law this year to protect Maine election workers from threats of violence."
      Bellows adds, "Mainers should be very proud that our elections are free, fair and secure. We have time tested checks and balances to ensure the integrity of our elections." She points out that, if someone votes illegally, they will be caught and prosecuted, and that there were two prosecutions in 2020 related to individuals voting twice. "We are proud of everything that our election workers do to ensure that every Maine citizen has the right to vote and have their vote be counted."

Following state requirements
      Of the presence of poll watchers during the primary election in Eastport, City Clerk Ella Kowal says, "I'm concerned about how other people perceive it. People have a right to question" how an election is run, but she states, "We run it according to how it should be, according to state guidelines. I don't want our workers to feel scrutinized. They're doing their jobs as required."
      "We take pride in following the process the way we should. We've never had any issues" with voting in Eastport elections, the city clerk states. "I'm very confident in the our election workers, that they're following the process and state requirements. We take pride in the service that we do."
      The poll watchers in Maine used lists of registered voters, but they were not obtained from the municipal clerks. In Eastport, one person who voted was not on the list that the poll watchers used but was on the city clerk's list. According to the Department of the Secretary of State, voter registration lists are available under the law in certain circumstances.
      Also in Eastport, the poll watchers wanted to take photos of the tabulation machine, the election setup, the posted notices and the tape of the results following the election. The Department of the Secretary of State informed the city clerk that those photos are permissible.
      The Eastport city clerk was informed the day before the election that poll watchers wanted to be present, and Kowal told them to check with the warden, who assigned a designated area for them.
      Janice Scanlon, who has been the town clerk in Pembroke since 1984 and currently serves as town clerk for Pembroke, Perry and Charlotte, reports there was one poll watcher in Pembroke for part of the day. While the presence of the poll watcher did not bother Scanlon, since "she minded her own business," she says she understands the feeling of some election workers, who may sense that they are not being trusted. "You have rules and regulations you have to go by, and you go by them," Scanlon says matter of factly. "I have to report this stuff to the state."
      Calais City Clerk Theresa Porter says there were two poll watchers this year in that city, with one taking some photos. Porter, who has been clerk since 1990 and is retiring later this year, says there have been poll watchers occasionally through the years, and there have not been any issues with them being at the polls. "I don't allow them to interrupt the flow, and they know that," she states in a no-nonsense manner.

Looking for potential problems
      Charles "Jeff" Crane, who was a poll watcher in Eastport for part of the day, says the initiative was sponsored by the Maine Republican Party, which provided training for poll watchers. "They just wanted to see if there were any problems" with the election, and he notes that having poll watchers at the primary election "was a practice for the general election." As for why the GOP recruited poll watchers, he says, "I think they were interested in potential problems in the general election" in November. He adds that he has no reason to suspect any fraud in the election, at least not in Eastport.
      Crane says the only issue he encountered was that he and other poll watchers had to sit so far from where voters checked in that they could not hear their names. As voters left, the poll watchers asked voters if they would give their names, so they could check a list they had to see if they were registered. If a voter did not want to give their name, "I didn't push them. All of them were cordial," he says.
      If a poll watcher questions whether a person is registered to vote, state law outlines the procedure to be followed. Bellows points out, "It's important to note that under the law a poll watcher may challenge another voter only upon personal knowledge or a reasonably supported belief that the challenged voter is unqualified. They cannot challenge everyone in a particular party, for example." When asked, some of the poll watchers in Eastport did not state who they were working for, and there was no sign to indicate they were associated with the Maine GOP effort and were not municipal election workers. According to the Department of the Secretary of State, there is no requirement that there be a sign indicating they are poll watchers.
      As for whether they should state, when asked, who they are working for, Bellows says, "Poll watchers should not be engaged in conversation with voters that could violate the prohibitions in statute on political activity at the polling place." She adds that poll watchers are required to inform the election warden of who they represent. According to state law, municipalities must provide a polling place large enough to allow at least one worker from each political party to remain outside the guardrail enclosure as a poll watcher.
      Sharon Bemis, the state director for GOP Maine Election Integrity, did not respond to several requests for comment. According to a posting at the website , in April Maine Election Integrity conducted both trainings for poll watchers and a workshop to recruit poll workers "to ensure coverage, transparency and that the highest level of integrity is upheld before and on Election Day." The posting also states, "As Democrats continue their unconstitutional assault on our most basic voting protections, the GOP is stepping up to protect free and fair elections."
      The effort by the GOP in Maine is part of a larger initiative by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to target and potentially overturn votes in Democratic areas, according to a recent article by Politico, an online journalism company. Poll workers are being recruited by the RNC to look for fraud and, if they believe they find any, to call into a network of Republican attorneys, who will be ready to file lawsuits to block the counting of votes. The party reportedly plans to have 5,000 poll watchers and poll workers in each state for the November midterm election.
      Town clerks, wardens and ward clerks are either elected positions in towns and cities in Maine or are appointed by the municipal officers.
      Along with poll watchers for the Maine Republican Party, the League of Women Voters and the Maine Democratic Party also had some poll watchers at various locations during the primary election. In addition, candidates are permitted to have representatives at the polls and often do during tabulation after the polls close, according to Bellows.