Justice Department Sends 1,000 Federal Monitors to Polling Places Nationwide
The U.S. Justice Department announced the deployment of about 1,000 federal election monitors to polling locations across all states, focusing on districts with competitive races.
The Justice Department said on Tuesday it will send roughly 1,000 federal election monitors to polling places in all 50 states, targeting races that officials consider critical, including locations in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Maine, Iowa and Minnesota. The monitors will be drawn from the department’s Civil Rights Division, other DOJ components, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Office of Personnel Management.
"Throughout Election Day, Division personnel will maintain contact with state and local election officials," the department’s press release quoted Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division.
The announcement included a tip line for reporting alleged violations of election law. Local reports indicate that the monitors will be in plain clothes and will not be identified as DOJ or law-enforcement personnel.
State officials in Michigan said they are reviewing complaints that monitors in Dearborn asked for poll-worker training materials, which state officials said exceeds the monitors’ authority. The Michigan Department of State said it will clarify the legal limits of the monitors’ duties.
In New Mexico, the secretary of state reported that some monitors have asked questions that state officials consider outside the scope of permitted activity, such as questioning voters, and the state clerk is contacting the DOJ for clarification.
The deployment comes as the administration prepares for midterm elections in which the Republican Party is projected to lose its majorities in the House and possibly the Senate. The Justice Department has previously warned of potential election-law violations and has set up mechanisms for reporting and addressing such concerns.