The ones I’ve dealt with in the US in past elections were volunteers. 99% were great, but one was a former candidate and caused all kinds of problems. The clerk ended up removing him in the end.
Also in most states challengers/poll watches are not allowed to speak to voters. If they have concerns they need to talk to the actual poll workers
To be fair, I think it’s more typical for these kinds of partisan poll observers to operate on a volunteer basis.
Here’s a nice YouTube that describes one experience representing the interests of Count Binface in the recent UK election.
The ones I’ve dealt with in the US in past elections were volunteers. 99% were great, but one was a former candidate and caused all kinds of problems. The clerk ended up removing him in the end.
Also in most states challengers/poll watches are not allowed to speak to voters. If they have concerns they need to talk to the actual poll workers