Scrutineers is a left-of-center election activist organization that plans strategies and works to implement the critical race theory-influenced concept of “election justice.” ¹ Scrutineers is a member of the left-leaning Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) coalition. As of January 2023, the organization claimed 1,020 individual members in 44 different states across 9 member organizations. ²

Scrutineers has called the For the People Act, a Biden administration legislative priority that would federalize elections, “amazing in so many ways.” ³ The organization opposes voter ID legislation, claims that partisan officials are trying to close polling places to “keep Black and brown people from voting,” ⁴ and has called reductions in the number of polling places “racist and power-hoarding tactics.” ⁵

During the 2020 election cycle, Scrutineers said that it would be “painful to hear three old white men talking about #blacklives” in reference to the U.S. presidential debates. ⁶

History and Leadership

Scrutineers was founded in January 2020. ^{7 8} Emily Levy is the founder and executive director of Scrutineers. In 2004, Levy volunteered with the left-leaning Election Protection Coalition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has also worked on election-related projects in Ohio, California, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Nevada, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin. ⁹

Activities and Funding

Scrutineers is a left-of-center election activist organization that plans for and works for the critical race theory-influenced concept of election justice. ¹⁰ Scrutineers has called the For the People Act, a Biden administration-backed bill that would federalize election administration, “amazing in so many ways.” ¹¹

Scrutineers believes that state legislatures are passing laws to interfere with voting and sabotage elections ¹² and has claimed that partisan officials are trying to close polling places to “keep Black and brown people from voting.” ¹³ The organization opposes voter ID legislation and calls reductions in the number of polling locations “racist and power-hoarding tactics.” Scrutineers also supports expanded vote-by-mail and hand-marked paper ballots. ¹⁴

Scrutineers runs a podcast series in collaboration with the left-leaning Real News Project (WhoWhatWhy.org) ¹⁵ and operates the Act for Trusted Election Results (AFTER) Project, which claims that purveyors of the idea that the 2020 election was stolen are threatening to use extreme tactics to undermine American elections. ¹⁶

In 2022, Scrutineers supported the nomination of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. ¹⁷ During the 2020 election cycle, Scrutineers said it would be “painful to hear three old white men talking about #blacklives,” in reference to the U.S. presidential debates. ¹⁸

Scrutineers is a member of the left-leaning Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) coalition. As of January 2023, it consists of 1,020 individual members in 44 different states that are a part of Scrutineers’ 9 different member organizations. ¹⁹

Individual Members

Scrutineers’ individual members include election workers, voting rights activists, election security professionals, poll workers, and campaign volunteers who work to advance what Scrutineers labels as “free and fair elections.” ²⁰ These members monitor vote processing and election material processing, document vote counts, work to stop their county or state from purchasing what the group calls “insecure voting equipment,” contact local election officials regarding voting practices, and connect with the larger network of Scrutineer activists. Scrutineers hosts virtual training sessions, online events, calls to action, and a private mobile app for its individual members. ²¹

Scrutineers has recommended its volunteers and workers engage with 866OurVote.org, an arm of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Carter Center, and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University School of Law. ²²

Member Organizations and Affiliations

Scrutineers’ member organizations are the National Voting Rights Taskforce, Americans United for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency in Elections (AUDIT USA), Michigan Election Reform Alliance, left-of-center Democracy Labs, Transparent Elections North Carolina, Democracy Counts, Protect Our Votes, Civ.Works, and the Coalition for Good Governance. ²³

In 2022, Scrutineers presented its election training sessions on observing the voting and counting processes to the left-wing Future Coalition, Arab American Institute, Democracy Initiative, and left-of-center Third Act. Scrutineers executive director Emily Levy has said that left-of-center Common Cause, NAACP, and League of Women Voters (LWV) have expressed interest in the training but Scrutineers has yet to build relationships with these groups. ²⁴

In 2021, Scrutineers and the National Voting Rights Task Force wrote a letter to all U.S. Senators in support of the For the People Act, which would federalize substantial parts of the administration of U.S. elections. The letter also supported a universal option to vote on hand-marked paper ballots, elimination of barcodes for recording votes, preservation of paper ballots as public records, and independent audits of all federal elections. Letter co-signers included First Amendment restriction campaign Move to Amend, ValidateTheVoteUSA.org, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, Americans United for Democracy, Integrity and Transparency in Elections (AUDIT) USA, left-of-center Broward for Progress, Citizens’ Oversight Projects, Indivisible East Bay, Indivisible Sonoma County, and ElectionIntegrityCaucus.us. ²⁵

Funding

Scrutineers is a sponsored project of the left-of-center Netroots Foundation. Scrutineers receives tax-deductible contributions through Netroots Foundation. Scrutineers receives additional funding from non-tax-deductible contributions directly on its website ²⁶ and individual membership fees. ²⁷

For the first 22 months of its existence, Scrutineers was funded by Concentric Media. ^{28 29}

1. “Our Community.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/enrollment/.
2. “Home.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/.
3. “Increase election security provisions in For the People Act 2021.” Scrutineers YouTube Page. Uploaded 2022. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEgw3uz6hVI.
4. “Tweet.” ScrutineersUS Twitter. Posted January 20, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://twitter.com/ScrutineersUS/status/1484297331457486848.
5. Levy, Emily. “Protect the Elections with Scrutineers.” Scrutineers Vimeo Page. Uploaded 2021. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://vimeo.com/455584916.
6. “Tweet.” ScrutineersUS Twitter. Posted September 29, 2020. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://twitter.com/ScrutineersUS/status/1311123601970479104.
7. “Scrutineers Media Kit.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/media/scrutineers-media-kit/.
8. Jonathan D. Simon and Emily Levy. “Scrutineers Founder Emily Levy on Safeguarding Our Democracy.” Who What Why. November 8, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/elections/scrutineers-founder-emily-levy-on-safeguarding-our-democracy/
9. “Scrutineers Media Kit.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/media/scrutineers-media-kit/.
10. “Our Community.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/enrollment/.
11. ^[1] “Increase election security provisions in For the People Act 2021.” Scrutineers YouTube Page. Uploaded 2022. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEgw3uz6hVI.
12. “About.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 25, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/about/.
13. “Tweet.” ScrutineersUS Twitter. Posted January 20, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://twitter.com/ScrutineersUS/status/1484297331457486848.
14. Levy, Emily. “Protect the Elections with Scrutineers.” Scrutineers Vimeo Page. Uploaded 2021. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://vimeo.com/455584916.
15. ^[1] “Mission and History.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/about/mission-history/.
16. “The A.F.T.E.R. Project.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/get-involved/partner/after-project/.
17. “Tweet.” ScrutineersUS Twitter. Posted April 6, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://twitter.com/ScrutineersUS/status/1511810912524464128.
18. “Tweet.” ScrutineersUS Twitter. Posted September 29, 2020. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://twitter.com/ScrutineersUS/status/1311123601970479104.
19. “Home.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/.
20. ^[1] “Our Community.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/enrollment/.
21. ^[1] “Join the Community.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/join/.
22. “Proactive POLL WORKER Election Protection Training // US Elections 2020.” Scrutineers YouTube Video Description. Uploaded October 28, 2020. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BK7yDLz1EE.
23.  “Member Organizations.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/member-organizations/.
24. Jonathan D. Simon and Emily Levy. “Scrutineers Founder Emily Levy on Safeguarding Our Democracy.” Who What Why. November 8, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/elections/scrutineers-founder-emily-levy-on-safeguarding-our-democracy/.
25. “Letter to U.S. Senators.” Scrutineers and National Voting Rights Task Force. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.nvrtf.org/ewExternalFiles/Senators!.pdf.
26. “Donate.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/get-involved/donate/.
27. “Enrollment.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/our-community/enrollment/
28. “Concentric Media.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Part III. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2020/943/169/2020-943169925-202132179349300923-9.pdf?_gl=1*111g5oj*_ga*ODgyNTA2NTk3LjE2NzUwMTMxNTI.*_ga_5W8PXYYGBX*MTY3NTAxMzE1Mi4xLjEuMTY3NTAxMzE4Ny4yNS4wLjA.&_ga=2.205493200.1514209475.1675013153-882506597.1675013152.
29. “Mission and History.” Scrutineers. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://scrutineers.org/about/mission-history/.