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Florida Election Observers: Rules and Constraints

This resource details state and federal laws that govern who can be an election observer, what they can do, and how election workers can oversee them.

Last Updated: October 1, 2024
Published: June 26, 2024
View the entire Election Observers Rules and Constraints series

Written and Published in Partnership with All Voting is Local.

Election observers, referred to as “poll watchers” and “observers” in Florida, are individuals who monitor polling places and ballot counting sites, respectively. While election observers play an important role in providing transparency, they can also be a potential source of disruption and intimidation. For this reason, all states have a series of rules and constraints regarding who can serve as election observers and what they can do. Florida’s rules on observers, which derive both from the state’s election code and from the Florida Division of Elections’ manual (which is codified in the state’s administrative code), are:

Appointment

Role of Watchers and Observers

Prohibited Activities

Federal and state law strictly prohibit all people, including observers, from engaging in voter intimidation. Any action that makes a voter feel intimidated, threatened, or coerced (including any effort to prevent a voter from registering to vote, voting, or voting for or against any candidate or ballot measure) could constitute voter intimidation, regardless of whether it breaks a specific rule.footnote22_G2cvvCOZAJxe6hEotWzYdvICR5oi3lxNNgjVHkzNU_rqdsWd1IcJp22218 U.S.C. §§ 241, 594; 52 U.S.C. § 10101(b); Fla. Stat. § 104.0615(2).More information on the federal and state laws that protect Florida voters from intimidation can be found here.

Removal

End Notes