Election Observer Program aims to train poll watchers to ensure ballot boxes are filled, not stuffed

The Election Observer Program is in the middle of a “ramp up” just in time for a Nov. 5 election day that will see not just a new President elected but scores of Congressional seats up for grabs. The program is run by the House of Representatives and aims to train poll watchers to add an extra layer of security while ballot boxes are being filled – and not stuffed.

"We're excited to really ramp the program up, roll it out, as we come into the final eight weeks before the election," House Committee on Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) told Fox News in an interview about the operation, which has already been in use in several election cycles but on a low-key level.

The battle for the House of Representatives will be fought tooth and nail again this year as Republicans and Democrats battle for control in a legislature that is fairly evenly divided. The majority will go to the party who can take most of the more than a dozen races that are too close to call, Fox noted.

The House Committee on Administration believes poll observers from the Election Observer Program can guarantee the integrity of voting in those constituencies. Congressional staffers can volunteer for a training program that would empower them to be poll watchers at a given station. They could be sent to any Congressional district but their own if requested by a candidate who is in tight electoral contest.

"I think uniquely this Congress, we can raise awareness, engagement and participation in the program," Steil told Fox News. "This is a program that's been around for some time, and it's been a successful program. My staff has participated in it, and I think it's an important piece of the puzzle as we work to enhance the integrity and Americans' confidence in our elections."

He is boosting the program to the media right now because he says candidates from all political persuasions need to know it exists and can be of use to them.

Asked if he harbored any concerns about the integrity of this year’s vote, Steil said he was "frustrated" when the Biden-Harris administration did not respond to his queries about a June executive order that is vaguely described as being about promoting voter access in the upcoming federal election.

"The administration continues to hide the ball on the work they're doing as it relates to President Biden's executive order, and I think there's areas in particular as it relates to noncitizen voting that we should work to continue to get in place," Steil told Fox.

Democrats are opposing a Republican initiative that would necessitate having proper ID before being registered to vote – the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act – calling it voter suppression and are prepared to allow another government shutdown to kill the bill. Steil said he hopes the division doesn’t mean that Democrats won’t still use the Election Observer Program in November as they have in the past.

"A lot of things that did not used to be viewed as partisan in nature, in particular as it relates to election integrity, have become an attempt by the left to try to weaponize the efforts in the other direction," he said. "We'll see how our Democratic colleagues respond to a program they participated in the past."

"But I am of the view that we have an opportunity to take this program and move it up to the next level, both in visibility and in participation."