HOUSTON, Texas — Texas voters are finally getting their first chance to see Senate Bill 1 in action.
Senate Bill 1 is the controversial law that was passed last year during the special session of the Texas Legislature.
One of the biggest points of debate was the new rules for poll watchers.
Political poll watchers are not new to Harris County.
“We want them to just sit quietly and watch what’s going on," said Nicole Pedersen, who is the Voter Protection and Elections Director for Harris County Democratic Party.
For years, Democrats and Republicans have recruited members of their own parties to be their eyes and ears at polling places during both early voting and on Election Day.
“We really use our poll watchers to just notify us if something is going wrong," Pedersen said.
But since Senate Bill 1 was passed last year, a lot has changed.
“When they arrive at the polls now, poll watchers are allowed to be close enough to see and hear all election functions," Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria said.
That new law is giving more freedom inside a polling place, but some election administrators say it’s those new freedoms they’re most concerned about.
“My biggest concern is voters being scared," Longoria said.
Longoria says a language change in the law is bringing more gray areas to just how close a poll watcher can get to a voter.
“They’re never allowed to see a how a voter votes, but they could push the limit on what it means to get as close as they can to a voter to observe the election process," Longoria said.
Another new change - there’s mandatory training for poll watchers. It’s online, and anyone can register.
But now, only one person can remove a poll watcher - an election judge.
“Instead of people from my office or the County Attorney’s Office. That’s going to be a big change," Longoria said.
And any consequences from removing a poll watcher fall solely on that judge.
“It is now much harder for judges to ask a poll watcher to leave," Pedersen said.
Pedersen helps recruit election judges for the county’s Democratic Party. She says the added pressure on the judges combined with the possibility of increased penalties has made some judges decide not to serve altogether.
“These judges are trying to do a good job, but it is very possible to make an innocent mistake. And they’re quite afraid that that innocent mistake will be used by someone to accuse them of election fraud, when in fact, they’re just trying their best to follow the rules," Pedersen said.
“These all seem small, but together it creates a situation where poll watchers have more autonomy, more freedom in the poll. And it’s going to be harder to justify removal or to protect voters from poll watchers who may not be acting illegally, but are definitely acting in a harassing or unnecessary manner," Longoria said.
For information on how to become a poll watcher, click here.
KHOU 11 News has made multiple attempts to reach out to the Harris County Republican Party leaders to get their thoughts on the new changes.
As of Monday, no one from the party had responded.