All voters have the right to vote free of intimidation, including from law enforcement, military, and federal agents.
It is illegal for anyone to try to or actually intimidate, threaten, or coerce someone who is voting or trying to vote, or someone who is helping a person to vote. By law, members of the military, state and local law enforcement, and federal agents, including ICE, may not intimidate or prevent a qualified voter from voting through force, threat, or other action. It doesn’t matter if the intimidation was deliberate, as long as the voter, or the voter’s helper, felt intimidated.
Beyond the federal laws against intimidation, it is also illegal for any person in the U.S. civil, military, or naval service to order troops or armed federal agents to any place where an election is held. By law, officers of the U.S. military may not interfere with the freedom of any election or the exercise of the right to vote in any state.
All voters have the right not to be discriminated against based on race, national origin, or disability.
All voters who need assistance because of a disability or inability to read and write in the language of the ballot may choose someone to help them to vote, as long as the person is not an agent/representative of the voter’s employer or union.
If you have questions or need assistance on-site, the best person to speak to is a local election worker. Poll workers are members of your community, and work for the municipal or county government rather than the federal government.
If you observe violations of these rules, call 866-OUR-VOTE, the Election Protection Hotline! You can even report anonymously. If you are voting in person, and you feel comfortable doing so, you can quietly report your concerns to an on-site poll worker. Do not approach, speak to, or engage a law enforcement officer.
You can be only challenged as to whether you are who you say you are.
Challengers and watchers who remain in the polling place must be designated by the State Board, a local board in that county, a candidate in a location where that candidate is running for election, a political party, or a political committee. Undesignated challengers can challenge voters but cannot remain in the polling place.
A challenger MUST explain in writing under penalty of perjury why they believe you should be challenged.
Challengers and poll watchers may not speak to voters while inside of the electioneering zone.
Poll workers can ask your name, month and day of birth, and address to confirm your identity. If your information has been deemed confidential, they may conduct an alternative verification process.
You can speak to the local election director. If that does not resolve the issue, call Election Protection.
No, poll watchers may not take photographs or videos. This may be considered an example of voter intimidation.
The local election director and election judges control who is allowed inside the polling place.
The following people are allowed to be in the voting room of a polling place:
Talk to an election judge or the local election director. If this does not resolve the issue, call Election Protection.
Challengers CANNOT speak to voters.
Voters are entitled to assistance. If a voter has a disability or other limitation that requires assistance to vote, the voter may bring a person of their choice to help them vote. The person providing assistance may not be the voter’s union representative or employer. A voter may request that an election judge, observed by another election judge of a different party, assist them in completing their ballot.
Fair Elections Center and its Campus Vote Project intend the information contained herein to be used only as a general guide. This document should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a licensed Maryland legal professional. Updated August 2026.