Here are a couple of things I observed while there:
- The Election Registrar was there when I first showed up to discuss something with the Polling Station manager. I'm not sure what it was about, but it might have been important. I later found out that some stations were improperly filling out absentee ballots by not putting the last four digits of the Social Security number on them. I think that's what he was informing the manager of and to make sure he was complying with state law.
- There were a few cases where voters showed up without a mask. In two cases, the voters refused to leave or put on a mask when asked by an election official. In those cases, they were still allowed to vote. In the other case, the voter was given a disposable mask by the election office. One of the cases was an elderly man who flat out refused the mask and told the election official that masks don't work and that he should check the science. I wanted that old man to be my new grandpa since both of mine are dead now.
- There were two methods of voting. There was a pre-printed ballot that had all the names on it and there was a touchscreen device that filled out a paper ballot for you. In both cases, paper ballots were created, it's just that the method was different. A lot of people, though, went for the traditional ballot, so much so that some districts ran out of those ballots.
- I didn't detect any funny networks on my phone to connect to. If the ballot machines were connected to the Internet, it was probably through a network that wasn't broadcasting its SSID, which I doubt they would be sophisticated enough to do. Likewise, there were no bluetooth connections either.
Poll Watching is not a glamorous job. You're not allowed to talk to anyone, except for the manager or the assistant and even then, only to make inquiries. You have to watch the poll workers and voters to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. I personally didn't see anything unusual happen myself, but I reported any possible anomalies just to be on the safe side.
I recommend that every US citizen who is concerned about voter fraud volunteer to do poll watching. It's a job that will keep the voting about honest as it can be because the presence of poll watchers acts as a deterrant. Remember, they were kicking the poll watchers out in certain districts in the swing states that Biden "won".
I'm going to be doing another shift this Saturday and then again next week on election day. If you're a Virginia resident and you want to help ensure that the polls are secure, then seriously consider volunteering. The more eyes we have on the polls, the less likely we are to see dirty tricks.
Or you could just complain, bitch, and moan about how it's all rigged and that everyone should just milk goats instead.