‘Egregious’: Swing State Dems May Be Illegally Recruiting Out-Of-State Poll Watchers, GOP Letter Warns

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party may be illegally recruiting out-of-state poll watchers, according to a letter sent Thursday from the Republican National Committee (RNC), which flags “misinformation” on the state party’s website.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s website says that any poll watchers who are recruited must be physically present in the state to work, but that they “do not necessarily have to be PA voters.” The state party’s guidance contradicts Pennsylvania state law that requires poll watchers to be “a qualified registered elector of the county” where the polling is taking place, according to the RNC letter. (RELATED: House Passes Bill Aiming To Keep Illegal Immigrants From Voting)

“That’s a completely inaccurate statement regarding Pennsylvania poll watchers,” Linda A. Kerns, Pennsylvania election integrity counsel for the RNC, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Our law is extremely strict on that. A candidate can’t even enter the polling place unless he’s actually there to vote. If you want to be a poll watcher, you have to be a resident of the county where that district is.”

“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is soliciting individuals to violate state law,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow and manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, told the DCNF.