Election observers watched SLO County recall vote-counting for weeks. Here’s what they saw
While San Luis Obispo County elections staff prepared to count the thousands of votes cast in Tuesday’s gubernatorial recall election, poll watchers stood in the background keeping tabs on the proceedings.
Observers were a mostly silent, vigilant presence. They took notes on clipboards as staff members alphabetized mail-in ballot envelopes, checked signatures and answered phone calls from voters.
Throughout California, poll watchers turned out to observe the September recall election — and San Luis Obispo County has been no exception. The recall was a politically polarizing race, and it marked the first time voters have cast ballots since the rise of false voter fraud claims that have persisted since the 2020 presidential election.
The election was also the first in the county since former Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong resigned from his position to take a new job following racist attacks from those promoting election misinformation.
Local observers watching the polling places expressed concerns about voting by mail and the county’s Dominion Voting Systems tabulation machines. But they also seemed eager to learn about what goes into conducting an election.
Helen Nolan, deputy director clerk-recorder, said she’s mostly gotten good questions from observers, and she’s always happy to be able to teach them about the process of voting and counting ballots.
“My favorite part is when I give an explanation of the process, and the lights go on,” Nolan said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ I love that part. I love being able to educate an observer on what they’re looking at, what they’re seeing. It’s a really good feeling.”
Election Integrity Project poll watchers in SLO County
Two of the three observers The Tribune talked to on Election Day said they were affiliated with the Election Integrity Project (EIP), a conservative nonprofit that has trained and deployed observers throughout the state.
Nolan said a local EIP leader told her there were four poll watchers in the county, although she suspects there are more. The county’s public observer logs do not require those who signed in to list their group affiliation.
Any resident can observe elections, as long as they sign in on the log and agree to follow a list of rules. However, some groups train poll watchers with a specific mission in mind.
The EIP identifies as nonpartisan and is active in California, Nevada, Arizona and Arkansas. Its goal is to make sure “every lawfully cast vote is accurately counted,” according to the organization’s website.
The EIP claims voting by mail leaves elections open to “fraudulent votes,” and the only way to “ensure INTEGRITY in the election process is to limit mail-in ballots to those who have no other choice,” the organization’s website says.
In addition to training local election observers, the EIP has attempted to identify county residents for the Clerk-Recorder’s Office to remove from voter rolls, mostly in areas “where Republicans faced strong challenges,” the Los Angeles Times reported in June.
Randall Jordan, chairman of the county Republican Party, said his organization is not involved in the EIP, although the state GOP party has conducted its own election observation efforts.
“(The California GOP) has its separate arm for election integrity,” he wrote in an email to The Tribune. “We utilized (California GOP) observation training for (the) recall election.”
The Tribune reached out to the EIP, but did not receive a response.
Can observers challenge ballot signatures?
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sept. 10 that some EIP poll watchers have challenged signatures on mail-in ballots.
All registered voters in California received mail-in ballots ahead of the Sept. 14 election as part of the state’s effort to prevent COVID-19 transmission. Residents who use these ballots to vote must sign the envelopes, and election workers compare their signature to the one in their voter registration record.
Nolan said observers can ask questions about what they perceive to be mismatched signatures, but they cannot officially challenge them.
If election workers find signature irregularities, they send voters a letter offering them the opportunity to “cure” their ballot, or correct the mismatch.
Nolan said she’s fielded questions from some EIP observers about ballot signatures, but she informed them her team has received specialized training in signature verification and has a better grasp of the county’s procedures than onlookers do.
“I did explain that the operator understands how to use our system,” she said. “And they’re looking at that from their training as an employee and their training as signature (verifiers). So I would trust my staff’s determination more than I would trust an observer’s determination. So there, I explained to (the EIP observer) too — you can ask a question about it, we’ll be happy to explain it. But it’s not a challenge. A legal challenge is not going to be OK. And (the observer) was OK with that.”
Poll watchers share their motivations
Election Day poll watchers told The Tribune that a host of concerns motivated them to observe the recall process.
They mentioned debunked voting irregularities in states like Arizona and Georgia during the 2020 presidential election, concerns about tabulation machines, questions about why all voters received mail-in ballots and rumors that residents had shown up to vote only to find their ballots had already been cast.
Only one observer shared her name with The Tribune, but all the poll watchers said seeing the election process play out in front of them allayed some of their concerns. They seemed genuinely interested in learning about election staff’s work and noted their dedication to their jobs.
Erin Westmoreland said she learned about the EIP through Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that’s recently been involved in protests against mask-wearing in schools.
Westmoreland said she’s feels as though “we’re losing our freedoms,” and she could trace the roots of her concerns to elections and who holds public office.
She’d been observing election staff for weeks, and it was important to her to compare what she hears and sees in the media to the reality of voting in San Luis Obispo County.
Westmoreland said she’d previously watched a video the Clerk-Recorder’s Office posted online about vote-counting, and it was comforting to see that it matched her in-person experience.
“I told my husband, if I’m going to complain about the process, I better be willing to do something about it,” she said.
Nolan said she doesn’t think EIP observers come in with “cruel or mean or nefarious intentions” but believes they’re open to learning.
“I know there’s still some mistrust and doubt out there,” she said. “But my hope is that with spending time with the observers and giving them our time and a meaningful conversation, we’re imparting education and information that they can do something with.”
