Justice Department Begins Notifying Counties Where It Wants to Monitor Elections

Justice Department Begins Notifying Counties Where It Wants to Monitor Elections

The Department of Justice this week began notifying county governments that it wants to station federal personnel at local polling places on Election Day to monitor voting, NPR has learned. Counties in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Washington have received notifications so far, but the list appears to be growing in real time.

Notifications Are Going Out, List Still Growing

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division Voting Section has been monitoring sites across the country through the primary season: three Arizona counties on July 21; Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota on August 11 with about 20 staff; Miami-Dade County in Florida and Laramie County in Wyoming on August 18; Charleston County in South Carolina on August 25; and Pawtucket in Rhode Island on September 9. By the Rhode Island stop the department said it had visited 11 states and hundreds of polling locations.

Legal Basis: Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act

DOJ official Pels told NPR the department prioritizes places with competitive elections and would monitor Adams County, Colorado, because it is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires voters be given access to election materials in the language they speak. Neighboring Weld County is not covered under that provision.

Local Response: Colorado Is Evaluating

Colorado election rules say observers need permission from the secretary of state's office unless ordered to observe by a court. Jack Todd, a spokesperson for the Colorado secretary of state's office, said the state is considering the requests in collaboration with the attorney general's office. Adams County clerk Josh Zygielbaum, a Democrat, told NPR he was surprised the DOJ contacted him but not the Republican clerk in neighboring Weld County, which also covers a large share of the same toss-up congressional district. "My initial thought is that it's politically motivated, and that this is potentially an intimidation technique," Zygielbaum said.

Monitors Are Not Statutory Observers

The DOJ's "monitors" are distinct from federal "observers." Statutory observers are currently permitted in only three places: Union County, New Jersey; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Monitors observe and enforce federal voting laws including the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. They do not check voter eligibility, ask for ID, or decide who votes.

Record Scale: More Than 1,000

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, has called this "the biggest DOJ election observer effort in history" and plans to send more than 1,000 agency staff to monitor polling sites. Under President Biden, the DOJ sent personnel to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states for the 2022 midterms and 86 jurisdictions in 27 states for the 2024 presidential election.

What Comes Next: The List Keeps Growing

County notifications are still going out and the final scope remains undetermined. The Republican National Committee is also recruiting observers, and community groups such as LUCHA have been training volunteers as "constitutional observers." Federal monitors, party observers and volunteer watchers together make this Election Day's polling-place oversight denser than any previous cycle.