Philadelphia having trouble with poll watchers.
Philadelphia Republicans Say Their Inspectors Are Being Tossed Out
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Joe DeFelice, the chairman of the Philadelphia Republican City Committee, said numerous Republican poll inspectors have been denied entry or thrown out of polling stations across the city and that in at least one case a poll worker was spotted entering a machine and pushing buttons for a voter.
“It’s voter suppression, disenfranchisement and intimidation,” DeFelice said. “Everything they claimed we were going to do.”
The Department of Justice has contacted DeFelice about the issue with inspectors, he said. DeFelice also filed a complaint with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and plans to send more this afternoon. Cameron Kline, a spokesperson for the District Attorney, said the Office is aware of three incidents regarding Republican poll inspectors being turned away. With one Republican inspector per polling place, there would be about 1,600 in the city.
The DA’s office has scheduled a press conference for 2:30 p.m.
DeFelice said the problems with Republican inspectors have been happening throughout the city but the biggest issues have been in West Philly. At Lamberton Elementary School in the Overbook section, he said, the Republican inspector was forced to sit outside in a hallway and wasn’t allowed back into the polling room until a GOP attorney assisted her.
Inspectors are the main workers at polling stations. They can help sign in voters and monitor the polls. In Philadelphia, there are supposed to be majority (Democratic) and minority (Republican) inspectors at each station. Given Philadelphia’s hefty Democratic majority — a 7-to-1 registration advantage — the minority inspectors can sometimes be difficult to find. Greg Paulmier, a Democratic ward leader in particularly blue Northwest Philly, said there were frequently no Republican minority inspectors in the area in the past. That was expected to change this year, with more Republicans stepping up for the job and even more appointed by court last month.