A scrutineer (also called a poll-watcher or a challenger in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) is a person who observes any process that requires rigorous oversight. Scrutineers are responsible for preventing

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

and detecting genuine mistakes and problems. The scrutineering process most commonly occurs alongside voting in an

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

. The scrutineer observes the

counting Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects; that is, determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for ever ...

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

papers to ensure that election rules are followed. There are other uses of the concept; in

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

, a scrutineer is responsible for ensuring that vehicles meet the technical regulations.

Politics

Rules vary concerning the number of scrutineers from a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

who are allowed to be present at each polling station. In some jurisdictions, each candidate or party may have one scrutineer or poll-watcher per

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

or precinct where voting or counting takes place. In other jurisdictions, such as in Australia and Canada, each party is permitted to appoint one or two scrutineers per polling booth. Scrutineers are often required to refrain from contact with voters, from wearing or displaying political slogans, or from otherwise exerting influence on the conduct of the election while it is taking place. Scrutineers also may report back unofficial results to their campaign headquarters, as the official results can take some time to be issued.

Sport

Scrutineers play an important role in many

s. Racing series typically have a set of technical regulations to which the cars, bikes, or other vehicles must conform. The role of the scrutineer in this case is to confirm that vehicles entered for the race meet the relevant regulations.

Design and engineering

Someone who carefully verifies the accuracy of technical specifications, drawings, or configurations as they apply to a specific discipline field.

Competitive dance

Dancing competitions (especially dancesport) employ (usually professionally certified) officials who oversee judging and tabulate scores. Software is often used to aid with tabulation.

References

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External links