In Effingham, we don't have a problem with election fraud.  Our Election Judges are well trained and in all my years of poll watching, the biggest offenses of electioneering I have seen is the yearly arrival of Democrat campaign signs within 100 feet of a polling place (in my precinct anyway) and someone wearing a T-shirt of a candidate to vote (which I objected to and the Election Judges made the person leave and turn their shirt inside out before voting).  Nothing that really threatens the outcome of the election.

However, elsewhere in Illinois electioneering and voter fraud have taken place - especially in Chicago and the Metro East.  It's almost said tongue in cheek that "the dead vote" and "vote early and vote often", but in some elections, those jokes have been reality.  There has been suspicion of the Chicago vote for Kennedy in the 1960 election and in even in Effingham way back when, there has been a shadow cast on the vote to make Effingham the county seat over the now non-existent (except for the old cemetery) Ewington. 

This is where the poll watchers come into play.  Pollwatchers are allowed to make sure that the ballot box is empty before polling begins, compare signatures on file to the signature of the person voting, watch that the Election Judges are handling the ballots correctly, can challenge a person's right to vote in that precinct (Election Judges have final say), and have the right to watch the ballots being counted.  Poll watchers must obtain credentials from political parties, candidates, recognized organizations of citizens, state non-partisan civic organizations, or organized proponents/opponents of ballot propositions.

Poll watchers are nothing more than a watchdog of the election process.  If the Election Judges fail to do their jobs the proper way, the poll watcher has the option of calling the local election officials.  If the local election official is unresponsive to complaints, then the poll watcher has the option of calling the state election officials.  Document everything.

Finally, poll watchers that are credentialed from political parties may even take an additional step of using their cross-referenced list of who voted and who did not to step outside of the polling place and make calls to voter who have not voted yet to remind them that the polls close at 7pm. 

Poll watching is more important than just sitting at a polling place twiddling your thumbs.  Poll watching serves a purpose to help ensure the election is the open and transparent process we expect living in a democratic republic and is under utilized downstate.

For your information, I have included important links regarding Election Judges, Poll watchers, and electioneering rules (Campaign Free Zones).

Poll Watcher Guide

Election Judge Guide

Campaign Free Zone Guide