DETROIT – Two people are describing their experience working inside the TCF Center amid the lawsuits and chaos surrounding the counting of ballots.
They explained what the process is like and what they saw happen when people starting banging on the windows demanding to get inside.
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President Trump supporters were outside the TCF Center in Detroit on Wednesday, chanting and banging on windows.
Sommer Woods was responsible for the exterior logistics to keep the facility and the vote counters safe. She was standing in front of the protesters, trying to keep the perimeter and the interior safe -- and the vote secure.
There were between around 650 and 700 paid and trained vote counters inside at any given time. Challengers are sent from various political parties and organizations.
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Poll watchers can be anybody who wants to watch the process, but they are confined to a specific area of the hall. Derone BUffington is the political organizations coordinator, who makes sure credentialed challengers and uncredentialed poll watchers are in the right place at all times. He said he was shaken by what happened.
When the crowd chanted, “stop the count” many of the workers inside were afraid. They said they covered the windows to protect the workers and tried to convince many of them to return the next day to complete the work.
Poll watchers and challengers are not supposed to interact directly with vote counters. If they see something they believe is an issue they are supposed to speak to a supervisor who is stationed at every voting table.
People who were inside said both official challengers and some of the poll watchers were yelling slurs at the poll counters.