OBSERVERS AND MEDIA AT THE VOTING LOCATIONS

1. OBSERVERS AND MEDIA AT THE VOTING LOCATIONS Don Wright, General Counsel NC State Board of Elections August 2012

2. N.C.G.S. 163-45 N.C.G. S. § 163-45 sets forth allowable activities for observers, including collecting at least three times per day, lists of voters who have cast ballots. Political parties may collect said lists by using a “runner” if no observer was appointed for a particular polling location, but runners are not allowed to remain inside the voting enclosure once the list has been collected. An observer is not a “precinct official” 8 NCAC 10B.0101(a).

3. October 2010 Observer Memo Superseded a similar October 2008 memorandum. It was directed to all three recognized political parties. Sets out details of allowable observer activity. You need to be familiar with it and make sure your precinct judges are familiar with it.

4. “OBSERVE” AND “NOTE” GS 163-45 provides, with respect to observers, that they “shall in no manner impede the voting process or interfere or communicate with or observe any voter in casting a ballot, but, subject to these restrictions, the chief judge and judges of elections shall permit the observer to make such observation and take such notes as the observer may desire.” 

5. Chief Judge To Use Common Sense The observer can be allowed to “observe” the process but not impede the process.  It is in the discretion of the chief judge how many times that observer leaves the voting place whether to make a bathroom visit, place a necessary cell phone call or observe the curbside process.  Under no circumstances shall an observer enter the voting booth area - the private space in which a voter is to mark an official ballot.  What we are really talking about here is reasonable movement within the voting place and is not disruptive to the voters or the election officials.

6. Use of Wireless Devices For Data Transmission By Observers Use of all handheld electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, smart phones and PDAs) FOR LIVE DATA TRANSMISSION and other use (other than allowed phone calls) is prohibited while inside the voting enclosure. Use of these items by observers for making and receiving needed personal phone calls can be had in a area outside the voting place designated by the chief judge. The chief judge shall have the authority to remove an observer from the premises for violating this ban.

7. Use of Wireless Devices for Communication Use of wireless devices for necessary personal communications (sickness, child issues, car trouble, etc.) is only allowed in an non-obtrusive manner or in a way not disruptive to the voting process. Observers shall be directed to the designated area where such conversations can be had. The reasonable discretion of the chief judge shall determine when such activity becomes disruptive. Continuous and frequent communication may be considered disruptive.

8. Use of Computer By Observers When the observer wants to report to his/her respective political party, he/she may create a physical copy of the maintained voter list and deliver it to a runner as set forth in N.C.G.S. § 163-45. A physical copy could be a printed copy or an electronic copy on a physical storage device such as a CD-ROM or a flash drive. This use of the computer is allowed as a form of the note taking allowed by statute.

9. Conditions Upon Computer Use • Permission to use computer must come from the Chief Precinct Judge • The Chief Judge will provide a workspace for a permitted computer with a barrier that will prevent the recording of images of voters or ballots but not conceal the observer from the voter’s view. • Any wireless capacity in the computer must be disabled while in use in the voting place. Wireless cards, air cards, and external modems must be removed.

10. Media Memo April 2008 memo sets out current position of this agency as to media at voting locations. It was reviewed and accepted by the NC Association of Broadcasters. You and your precinct judges need to be familiar with it. Restrictions do apply to exit polling conducted within the buffer zone.

11. Media in the Buffer Zone Issues have arisen as to media setting up or positioning themselves within the electioneering buffer zones at one-stop sites to take pictures of voters. G.S. § 163-166.4 limits activity within the electioneering buffer zone that may “hinder access, harass others…” Also G.S. § 163-166.3 limits media access in the voting enclosure as follows:   (b)       Photographing Voters Prohibited. – No person shall photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of any voter within the voting enclosure, except with the permission of both the voter and the chief judge of the precinct. If the voter is a candidate, only the permission of the voter is required. This subsection shall also apply to one‑stop sites under G.S. 163‑227.2. This subsection does not apply to cameras used as a regular part of the security of the facility that is a voting place or one‑stop site. Exit polling…..should be conducted outside buffer zone. Contact SBE office if this issue arises.

12. General Media Guidelines • Understand the need for a free press in a democracy • Understand the value of “sunshine” that the press can bring to an issue • Learn who you can trust “off the record” • Not everyone calling themselves media or press is truly that, they may be bloggers. • Know that you can request that you can have the reporter read back what quotes the reporter has attributed to you