RNC hosts poll watcher training; clerk says more poll workers would be even better

 

FRANKLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- About 25 people gathered in a room inside the Franklin Public Library Wednesday night, Oct. 2, for a poll watcher training event hosted by the Republican National Committee (RNC). 

The RNC effort to put more Republican eyes on ballots stems from claims of irregularities following the 2020 presidential election. While several reviews and lawsuits found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin, some at Wednesday's training said they were motivated by suspicions about what happened four years ago.

"I wanna see what's going on, yeah," Robert Cronce, a retired Milwaukee firefighter who now lives in Kewaskum, said. "I'm more concerned about the boxes people are able to dump their votes in."

Others were more measured in their approach. Jim and Karen Magruder of Caledonia said they attended the training after Karen had already signed up to help process absentee ballots on their hometown.

"Absentee ballots or the drop boxes and those kind of things, so I just want to see what's happening," Jim Magruder said. "And make sure everything looks like it's operating the way it should."

Reporters were allowed to observe only the opening minutes of the training session. State Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) encouraged the trainees to vote in favor of a GOP-backed constitutional amendment on the November ballot aimed at ensuring only U.S. citizens can vote in Wisconsin elections.

After that, media were asked to leave the room, which has also happened at other RNC poll watcher trainings in recent years.

Democrats have questioned whether the training sessions are motivated by a desire to cause disruptions at polling places in Democratic-leaning areas and discourage people there from voting.

"Wisconsin Democrats will have a record number of poll observers in key localities across the state ensuring every vote is counted," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Joe Oslund said in a statement. "Republicans are focused on running the same undemocratic playbook as when they attempted to overturn the results in Wisconsin in 2020 -- including being so disruptive at the polls this summer that they had to be removed by police."

Oslund referred to incidents in July during a special election for a vacant state Senate seat. Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy and Milwaukee Election Commission Director Paulina Gutierrez said right-wing supporters caused a scene at polling places and Milwaukee's central count location by challenging the validity of all mail-in ballots based on a lawsuit that was still pending at the time.

That day, election observers signed in as members of the Republican Party, "concerned citizens," or other organizations, including H.O.T. Government, whose members support former President Donald Trump and were tied to past efforts to oust Assembly Speaker Robin Vos over their belief he hadn't done enough to investigate Mr. Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election.

A number of Republicans in the state Legislature have distanced themselves from the people involved in the July disruptions, and Bradley said the RNC had no interest in causing confusion or chaos at the polls.

"For anybody that's going through the training or anybody that's watching and is concerned about, just know that our goal is to ensure everything runs smoothly," Bradley said. "That everybody's vote is counted and that, hopefully, we have a winner on election night."

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he appreciated any effort to add more election observers as long as it's done with a correct understanding of that state's laws.

"Well, I think it's good to train folks," McDonell said. "One problem we have is that from state to state, the laws are so different, they'll read something online or hear something on the internet or something and not understand that law, so I think it's really important to do training."

More than that, however, McDonell said he encourages people to get involved as poll workers.

"I think when you really understand how many security checks there are and the fact you have to have a signature for every ballot, I think this idea of stuffing a ballot box doesn't make any sense once you work the polls," he said.

Karen Magruder said she was excited to help ensure absentee ballots in Caledonia were properly filed.

"I'm a retired administrative assistant," she explained. "I'm very detailed, and I enjoy doing this kind of work."

The RNC is hosting another poll watcher training event Thursday night in Green Bay.