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Georgia 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,” are individuals who monitor polling places and ballot counting sites. 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 poll watchers and what they can do. Georgia’s rules on observers, which derive both from the state’s election code and from guidance issued by the secretary of state, are:

Appointment

Role of Poll Watchers

  • Poll watchers monitor the election process without causing disruptions to ensure that all rules are followed.footnote11_IwjDhSVvdJOWRQ1JtnaoEdTn3D6sJ33MQeg9RGTt-s_sCbKZzUM7EEE11O.C.G.A. § 21–2–408. See also GA Secretary of State, Poll Watcher Training Manual, 2.Any infraction or irregularity observed by poll watchers must be reported directly to the election superintendent, not the poll manager.footnote12_mGd3Lmb73jz2qDnqFtF0PwXcWqkhSy32ijNa-q0ocxY_m8lBo5QuwooT12O.C.G.A. § 21–2–408(d). See also GA Secretary of State, Poll Watcher Training Manual, 2.
  • Poll watchers must be granted access to polling places, early voting locations, tabulation centers, and absentee ballot processing centers. They may enter the enclosed space to observe and may sit or stand as close as is practicable to the observed activity, except they are not permitted to hear certain confidential information such as voters’ birthdays, email addresses, driver’s license numbers, and locations of registration.footnote13_qWi9reCERYQDbLLhNBqM1Unx0zogj5iVuih6iXO0qo_siOowAV7aqY813S.B. 1207, 157th Gen. Assemb., 2nd Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2024); O.C.G.A. § 21–2–225(b).

    Role of Poll Monitors

  • In addition to poll watchers, Georgia also allows poll monitors outside of polling places. Monitors include members of the public, may generally be at the polls to look for issues such as long lines, and do not require appointment or badges.
  • Poll monitors are generally stationed outside of a polling place and may not enter the enclosed space, which usually means the building where the polling place is located.
  • Poll monitors are otherwise subject to all general restrictions that apply to poll watchers such as prohibitions on electioneering and the carrying of weapons.footnote14_yooKdTs0qyFiOR9Ox5SAn-6pa6kTi1aTBSjYx77tFM_tEXuczsu7k8j14O.C.G.A. § 21–2–413(c), (f).

Prohibited Activities

Federal and state law strictly prohibit all people, including poll watchers, from engaging in voter intimidation.footnote24_x6Qo9aa2xF18xWGtWcNlsf-vZYwFKoc1aQ7IsW0EA_swPaydlt1Ssd24O.C.G.A. § 21–2–567; 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 594; 52 U.S.C. § 10101(b).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.footnote25_Z1Rap64mDPiVpktQvZEMKbrdBdG9ysdICH1pqEvtB8_dihUX0MuGgPx25O.C.G.A. § 21–2–567.More information on the federal and state laws that protect Georgia voters from intimidation can be found here.

Removal

  • Georgia law grants election workers broad authority to remove poll watchers who impede or interfere with the conduct of any election or engage in any of the prohibited conduct listed above.footnote26_tjs7oP584OXNSNrFM6UMtxYf0sBz0yknt06VwXFXIP0_lhCAOzMYAZ2w26O.C.G.A. § 21–2–408(d).If, after a warning from an election worker, a poll watcher continues to engage in prohibited conduct or conduct that otherwise interferes with the election process, that poll watcher should be removed.footnote27_oU1n3N4A4Ag9aS15al9VOre6nBJjJAHezRJ3emWqM_yZXedzha5i1u27O.C.G.A. § 21–2–408(d). See also GA Secretary of State, Poll Watcher Training Manual, 2.
  • Any poll watcher who engages in prohibited activities may also face criminal charges.
  • Poll workers may contact law enforcement or election officials for assistance in removing disruptive people from the polls but should use sound judgment in deciding whether doing so is necessary. In such cases, law enforcement officers are required to restore order per the poll workers’ orders.footnote28_yi12oi-GmH9h0WlsSeo5RLAzNH3cfkItP-kFjIMtDY_dvPXXnOXeJGJ28O.C.G.A. § 21–2–593(2).

End Notes