Muskie Fellows Volunteer to Monitor Polls on Election Day in Virginia

On November 3, 2009, Virginians elected a new governor, and Muskie fellows Alexandru Mocanu and Andriy Olenyuk were in the thick of the excitement as poll monitoring volunteers. Alexandru, a 2009 Muskie fellow from Moldova studying at George Washington University Law School, and Andriy, a 2009 Muskie fellow from Ukraine studying at Georgetown University Law Center, worked with Election Protection, a non-partisan voter protection coalition, to ensure that all voters had an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.

Alexandru and Andriy were prepared for their volunteer roles by the Washington, DC office of Bingham McCutchen LLP and spent Election Day monitoring polling stations under the supervision of attorneys in Alexandria. As they assisted voters with questions, the attorneys gave the fellows a practical overview of the American election system, and both Alexandru and Andriy made comparisons with elections in their home countries.

“I witnessed certain voting practices here in U.S., such as electronic voting, curbside voting, or the 40 feet distance campaign [which prohibits persons from loitering or congregating within 40 feet of the entrance to a polling place], which are either different or only being discussed in Eastern Europe,” Alexandru observed. “Also, I learned firsthand about the handling of various election-related concerns which are still unresolved in my country, such as the lack of voter’s identification or absentee voting.”

“The most striking difference between [elections] in Ukraine and the U.S. is the logistics of elections,” commented Andriy, who has served as an observer during the presidential and parliamentary elections in his home country. “Polling stations are well equipped to process large amounts of voters, and the usage of electronic machines and special software not only allows votes to be processed more efficiently, but also prevents lines at the polling place and the eventual irritation of voters.”

During their day at the polls, Alexandru and Andriy did not encounter any violations of voters’ rights. “It was our impression from the discussion with the election workers and outside partisan campaigners that sporadic problematic cases were handled positively and in a professional manner by the assigned polling station personnel,” Alexandru said.

“Even though elections volunteers…may not enter the premises of polling places under Virginia law, all of the election officers were tolerant and supportive in our endeavors and kindly agreed to answer our questions as to compliance with the elections procedures,” Andriy added.

Alexandru believes his Election Day volunteer experience will be helpful upon return to Moldova. “Although elections are an area continuously being improved in the U.S., there are at this stage a lot of good practices and lessons learned to be looked at,” he said. “I found monitoring elections in the U.S. an excellent experience that I may take back home upon ending my program.”