Situation Room: Filming of voters at polling places in Michigan tests the balance between transparency, voter privacy, and election security.
Resource Library: Four Steps to Working with Challenging Visitors and Disruptive Content Creatorsprovides a framework for handling disruptive individuals asserting First Amendment rights.
Planning Desk: Format your election-specific Incident Response Plan so that it works when needed.
Filming and "First Amendment" Claims
Election offices are increasingly encountering individuals, sometimes described as “First Amendment auditors” or content creators, who film inside or around election offices, government facilities, and polling places. These encounters can test the balance between public transparency and the need to protect voter privacy, staff, and election operations.
On Election Day in November 2024, individuals filmed voters at multiple polling locations inOakland County, Michigan. Witnesses reported that individuals were recording voters entering and exiting polling places, and, in some cases, following them inside or outside, or filming at close range. Poll workers directed the individuals to stop filming near polling locations, but the individuals repeatedly responded that it was their “First Amendment right” to record. Eventually, the police were called to multiple locations as the situation unfolded, and, in most instances, the individuals left the polling places before or just after the police arrived.
Polling locations are not typical public spaces. They are legally protected to ensure voters can cast ballots free from interference or intimidation. Filming activity like this can create an intimidating environment for voters, interfere with the orderly conduct of voting operations, and undermine confidence in ballot secrecy. While individuals may assert a First Amendment right to record, ... READ MORE HERE.
The Situation Room focuses on real security incidents and threats in the news relevant to election security. To review previous issues, see thenewsletter archive.
"First Amendment" Audits - Practical Guidance for Election Offices
Know: Understand the legal landscape before an encounter occurs. Not all areas of a government building are open to the public. Election workspaces, especially polling places and ballot processing areas, may be subject to reasonable, viewpoint-neutral restrictions.
Prepare: Establish clear, content-neutral policies and physical boundaries in advance. Signage, staff training, and defined public vs. restricted spaces help ensure consistent responses and reduce confusion during an incident.
Protect: Respond in the moment with a calm, professional approach. Acknowledge filming rights where appropriate, but set clear limits to protect voter privacy, sensitive information, and ongoing election operations.
Share: Document and communicate. Record key details of the interaction and coordinate with leadership, legal counsel, or law enforcement when necessary to ensure a consistent and informed response.
This framework reinforces a core principle: election offices must support transparency while maintaining secure, orderly environments for voters and staff. Preparation and consistency, rather than improvisation, are key to managing challenging encounters effectively.
The Resource Library section of the newsletter spotlights election security resources. All highlighted resources are available online in the Resource Library.
Week E-27: Formatting Your Incident Response Plan
Election officials bear responsibility for election security, so they need their own election-specific Incident Response Plan to address situations that may impact election infrastructure. Whether they adopt a jurisdiction-wide plan and refine it or create a separate one, election officials don’t - and shouldn’t - own every part of the response and reporting process. The Election Security Working Group (ESWG) needs to develop and own the Incident Response Plan, with election staff and security partners fulfilling specific roles and responsibilities
The Incident Response Plan needs to include all information and instructions essential for responding to and reporting an election security incident. There is no perfect format, but poor organization can limit the plan's effectiveness. A plan’s format is effective if the users understand it, are comfortable with it, and can find the information they need.
It’s imperative that the plan define who is in charge, identify roles and responsibilities, and guide users through responding and reporting. Using the all-hazards approach, an Incident Response Plan created by an ESWG would include: ... READ MORE HERE.
The Planning Desk is a running timeline of key election security tasks. You can find prior editions in thenewsletter archive.
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