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Michigan 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: September 26, 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 “election challengers” in Michigan, 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 election observers and what they can do.  Michigan’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 Election Challengers

  • Election challengers observe the election process at a polling place, an early voting site, or an absent voter ballot processing facility.footnote9_fhSleb34Y9CI6959XSPaPiiuxk7Q76KgsWRREE4pfw_dpJ5JGmHk4re9Mich. Comp. Law § 168.733(1); MI Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers, 8.
  • Election challengers must follow directions from election inspectors and must only communicate with the designated challenger liaison unless directed otherwise.footnote10_ILTYznN88k1HthuB8PM83SQyM4E4mT-STDIJZLGKbKA_eJiRhAzQ119z10MI Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers, 4–6.
  • Election challengers are permitted to view, but not touch, applications to vote, registration lists, and other printed election materials as long as doing so does not interfere with the voting process or an election inspector’s ability to perform their duties.footnote11_hfUMBQnQGv-ryEtI6dpCyWhrA9dy1Dm-49kUkqMlQkQ_sQX1GppPwHaZ11MI Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers, 20–21.
  • Election challengers are allowed to challenge an election process, but the challenge “must state the specific element or elements of the process that the challenger believes are being improperly performed and the basis for the challenger’s belief.”footnote12_ZC9skqnfMM50jxzTsX9Qx6in4joZy0HeupYch-0BFcg_joiu2oM74meM12Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.733(d); MI Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers, 18.A challenge is impermissible if the challenger cannot explain why the challenged process is being performed in a manner prohibited under state law.footnote13_Q9XOaeK8sS26KO6EOGOh0QpyvNkJjzWqMJingu-8M_qrtJyrzqcF6Y13MI Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers, 18.
  • Election challengers may challenge a voter’s eligibility to vote.footnote14_xTP4s5nKb5Fbb57hY20gdAGS6ETNggDKeqLsDn8Jk_tOR9bMSWpKEu14Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 168.727.More information on the rules and constraints on voter eligibility challenges can be found here.

Role of Poll Watchers

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.footnote27_YP-FQJ4DE4wcNxH8zW8B5EO3zk6efxDvFnUmt0qa-8_iswgpSPXdyig27Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.932(a), (d); 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 594; 52 U.S.C. § 10101(b).More information on the federal and state laws that protect Michigan voters from intimidation can be found here.

Removal

End Notes