Request to Observe Election Denied - New Jersey
A request made by a Fellow at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University to observe poll workers on Election Night was denied because the, she was told, this election is “too important” to allow people to watch. Special concern was expressed over one applicant’s particular knowledge of electronic voting machines.
According to a personal account by Grayson Barber:
I submitted a formal request to the Board of Elections of Mercer County (where Princeton University is located), seeking permission to watch the poll workers when they close the polls (on Sequoia AVC Advantage voting computers) and announce the results. They said no!
The Election Board said this election is “too important” to permit extra people in the polling place.
They even went so far as to suggest that my written application was fraudulent. [...] By phone, I explained our interest in merely watching the poll workers.
Of course we understand that they might not want extra people getting in the way on Election Night — that’s why we took measures to get special authorization. [...] My request was entirely in compliance with state law, as all the prospective challengers are registered to vote in Mercer County.
In spite of this, the Board expressed reluctance, based on the identities of the prospective challengers. In particular, they cited Andrew [Appel]’s status as an expert on Sequoia voting machines as a “concern,” and provided assurances that Sequoia has fixed all the problems he identified in past elections.
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