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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s not just Forsyth County Republicans that are rallying around election integrity this midterm season. The statewide GOP organization has an entire page on its website<\/a> dedicated to \u201cElection Integrity\u201d where you can sign up to be a poll observer. \u201cVoters across North Carolina report election integrity as a top issue of concern,\u201d the webpage reads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to its party leadership, the Democratic party is most concerned with limiting voter intimidation and confusion rather than spotting irregularities at the polls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe big thing is making sure there’s no voter intimidation and making sure people have the patience to cast their ballot, as well as helping avoid any confusion,\u201d Drew Skilton, Third Vice Chair of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, said. The Democratic party had 10 poll observers for the first two days of early voting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an email newsletter sent on Oct. 20, the first day of early voting, the county Democratic party makes no mention of poll observers, yet does urge its members to volunteer as poll greeters to perform duties like \u201ckeep an eye out for Republican voter intimidation tactics outside the polling site.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew Barr is a professor of film at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is volunteering as a poll observer this election for the Forsyth Democratic party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reason I\u2019m doing it is because it\u2019s incredibly important to protect people\u2019s right to vote,\u201d Barr said. \u201cThe whole idea is to ensure people\u2019s right to vote without being intimidated.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n After the May primary, the State Board of Elections sent out a survey about poll observer behavior to local election officials. Forty-three counties participated, and 17 of them reported poll observer misconduct. Tim Tsuji, the Director of the Board of Elections for Forsyth County, reported \u201cno\u201d to experiencing observer misconduct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere hasn’t been any reported instances where observers have harassed or intimidated anybody inside the voting enclosure, nor outside the voting enclosure,\u201d Tsuji said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other counties in the state, however, reported problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the survey, election officials in nearby Davidson County reported that several poll observers demanded to stand behind machines to watch people vote and became argumentative after being told they couldn\u2019t. Further west, in Henderson County, poll observers demanded to approach tabulators to verify totals and be in the room where USBs were being uploaded on election night to observe and verify no totals were being altered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The state-wide election integrity movement <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to reporting in The Assembly magazine, representatives from battleground states Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin all attended an election integrity conference hosted by Cleta Mitchell, a conservative lawyer who was a member of Trump\u2019s legal team when he tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now these states have statewide organizations actively fighting for more secure elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim Womack is the GOP chair in Lee County, North Carolina and leads the North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT), North Carolina\u2019s statewide organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of their goals is to have an active task force in each North Carolina county by January 2024. Right now, Forsyth County has a task force of 56 people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForsyth County is one of our top counties in terms of organization,\u201d Womack said. \u201cI\u2019ve been really impressed by the level of interest and effort there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the organization\u2019s first meetings was held in Winston-Salem in February and roughly 100 people attended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI became a believer that this was not just something that was worthy, but it was also something that we\u2019re gonna see a lot of interest in statewide,\u201d Womack said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina does not offer standardized training for poll observers, leaving training to political parties. The election integrity organization conducted some of these training sessions, which Womack said primarily attracts GOP poll observers. The organization hosted a session in Kernersville in April, according to the Forsyth GOP website<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Womack said he begins training sessions by asking the crowd how many believe the last election was stolen or manipulated, and most people raise their hands. He said he tries not to reinforce any myths that have unsubstantiated claims. Womack does not believe the 2020 election was stolen but does believe that absentee ballots were fraught with vulnerabilities. In the meetings he also outlines the rules poll observers must follow and how to report irregularities if they see any. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI try to present factual information to all and properly frame the election challenges we have,\u201d Womack said. For example, he believes that most improper behavior occurred through absentee ballots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n