The King St. Patriots group, in Houston, placed Republican poll watchers in majority-minority polling locations back in Nov. 2010. The Tea Party here in Corpus Christi got poll watchers for almost every polling place 2 years ago. The poll watchers were trained to be rather aggressive, but state law here prohibits most of the intimidating tactics within the polling place. A poll watcher can not speak to any voter; can not use any type of recording device within 100 feet of the polling place (which means his/her cell phone must be turned off); can not stand where s/he is able to see how the voter marks the ballot; can not stand or sit so close to the poll workers that s/he obstructs their movements; can not tell the workers that they are doing something wrong, only ask about the procedure involved (and if any poll worker objects to being asked questions, the poll watcher can be instructed to speak only with the presiding judge); can not wear any form of identification, like a name tag; and can not leave the polling place and then return unless s/he has observed for a minimum of 4 hours. If these rules are broken, the presiding judge can order the poll watcher to leave the polling location, and has the authority to call law enforcement to remove the poll watcher, should s/he refuse to comply.
In Texas, the real danger from this group is the mischief they can make outside of the 100 ft. "No Electioneering" zone. They can have as many people as they want, wearing whatever fake official ids they want, taking pictures of voters entering the polls, asking if people are citizens, etc.
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