Groups are preparing thousands of observers for the November midterm elections, with some trainings seeding distrust by priming volunteers to expect bad behavior. The Nevada Election Observation Network held a session in Reno last month. While election observation is meant to be routine, recent trainings frame it as policing rather than passive observation.

A Republican-backed training claimed elections carry “an incentive for fraud,” and an anti-Trump group released a toolkit titled “Hands Off Our Vote.” Other sessions advised on countering disinformation, reacting to imagined intimidation by immigration agents, and surveilling fellow poll watchers. Experts warn that repeated exposure to false narratives about fraud can erode public trust, even when no wrongdoing occurs. Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University and former White House and Justice Department official, said priming people to expect wrongdoing leads them to misinterpret neutral events as suspicious.

After the 2020 election, numerous states expanded poll watcher powers, and the Department of Justice plans to deploy a historic number of monitors, including ~1,000 volunteers. The Association of State Democratic Committees aims to train at least 10,000 “democracy protectors” to counter federal agent intimidation. Trainings have occurred in cafes, churches, office parks, and webinars across over 10,000 jurisdictions.

Though most are factual, some prioritize catching misconduct over neutral observation, risking long-term damage to faith in elections.