^
Trump supporters
chant, “Four
more years,” on
Sept. 19 outside
the Fairfax County
Government
Center in Fairfax,
Va., disrupting
early votingFamiliar groups responded. Ten years after their
controversial role in Houston, members of True the
Vote have worked to recruit U.S. military veterans
to go to polling places on Nov. 3, says Ed Hiner, a
retired Navy SEAL who says he led the effort ear-
lier this year but bowed out in June when the na-
tional conversation around poll watching became
“too partisan.” Hiner says he promoted the effort
to 2 million former service members through vet-
erans’ organizations. On Facebook, the group has
echoed Trump’s call to send “sheriffs” to the polls
and posted messages like, “PA Patriots, you need to
engage—now! Eyes on every drop-off, polling place
and count.”
The Trump campaign declined to answer TIME’s
repeated requests for information about the number
of poll watchers that registered through their web-
site. Thea McDonald, the campaign’s national deputy
press secretary, says that the “Army for Trump” is
about fairness, not intimidation. “Poll watchers will
be trained to ensure all rules are applied equally, all
valid ballots are counted,” she says.
That, of course, is what good poll watching is
supposed to be about, and those Americans who
sign up for the traditional role with their local elec-
tion officials will find a nonpartisan process. Ob-
servers from both parties typically undergo training
and certification. GOP training videos show coiffedRepublican operatives speaking in measured tones
about proper procedures and reminding pro-
spective poll watchers to “be courteous to county
staff and other watchers—yes, even our Democrat
friends!”ElEction officials, social-media platforms and
law enforcement—worried the Trump campaign’s
language will inspire something less civil—are pre-
paring for the worst. In October, Facebook said it
would no longer allow content that encourages poll
watching by using “militarized” language that is
intended to “intimidate, exert control, or display
power over election officials or voters.” In a call with
reporters, Facebook Vice President of Global Policy
Management Monika Bickert said that posts using
words like army or battle would be prohibited.
U.S. law enforcement and security agencies also
seem to be on alert. In an assessment that described
far-right extremists as the largest domestic terrorist
threat in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Se-
curity (DHS) noted that such bad actors are focusing
on election- or campaign-related activities. “Open-
air, publicly accessible parts of physical election in-
frastructure, such as campaign-associated mass gath-
erings, polling places and voter-registration events,
would be the most likely flash points for potential vi-
olence,” the analysis read. Domestic terrorists “might
target events related to the 2020 presidential cam-
paigns, the election itself, election results or the post-
election period.”
The current state of the country adds its own con-
cerns. “Between the pandemic and civil unrest, the
timing couldn’t be worse,” says Daryl Johnson, a for-
mer DHS senior analyst. A report by the Giffords Law
Center to Prevent Gun Violence warned it is “likely
that significant numbers of people will bring guns
to polling places under the guise of preventing elec-
tion fraud.” Johnson says Trump’s rhetoric is fueling
these groups’ fear and paranoia. “By calling people
to polling stations, these armed militias could show
up and lead to the intimidation of voters under the
guise of poll watching.”
Election officials are taking their own steps to
protect voters. On Sept. 19, during early in-person
voting in Fairfax, Va., dozens of Trump supporters
chanting, “Four more years,” massed near a polling
location, forcing officials to allow a group of voters
to wait inside. Now officials there say they will ex-
pand the site’s buffer zone, in which electioneering
is prohibited, from 40 ft. to 150 ft.
That’s just fine by Knotts, the GOP chairman
of Fairfax County, who is determined to over-
see a quiet, fair Election Day. “Most people don’t
even know who a poll watcher is,” he says. “My
hope is that they don’t even notice us, and every-
thing goes on without a hitch.” —With reporting
KENNY HOLSTON—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX by mariah espada
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