Justice Department plans largest-ever election monitoring effort with about 1,000 staff

The Justice Department plans its largest-ever election monitoring effort for the Nov. 3 midterms, with about 1,000 staff expected at polling places, as Democrats and voting rights groups warn of voter intimidation.

The Justice Department plans its largest-ever election monitoring effort for the Nov. 3 midterms, with about 1,000 department staff expected to observe voting at polling places and ensure federal laws are being followed, spokesperson Kiersten Pels said.

The deployment follows a primary season in which the department said it sent more than 100 monitors to hundreds of polling locations. During the Biden administration, the department sent monitors to 64 jurisdictions for the 2022 midterms and 86 for the 2024 presidential election, according to The Washington Post.

Harmeet Dhillon, the Trump appointee who leads the department's Civil Rights Division, has said it is focusing on jurisdictions with potential language or disability-access problems and places where it believes there may be voter fraud.

Harmeet Dhillon, who now leads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division (2022, file photo)

At least one primary placement sparked tension. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, called the behavior of two monitors "a bit aggressive" and "irregular," and a Laramie County clerk said they arrived intending to interview voters, which her office did not allow. The department says the monitors did nothing improper, are trained to comply with federal law and will not "interfere with the voting process."

Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates warn the monitors could intimidate voters, and the NAACP and individual voters sued the department on Oct. 16 over the expanded deployment. Officials say the monitors will not be armed. Asked about monitors being sent to Georgia, Trump said: "They're not going to do anything other than watch."

Some local officials are taking precautions. Lansing, Michigan, city clerk Chris Swope said he contacted law enforcement and his attorney in case federal monitors violate election law, although he expects them to follow the rules.

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