Justice Department to monitor voting rights across 24 states

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The Justice Department will send monitors to 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws in Tuesday's elections. The action, which occurs regularly on Election Day, comes as civil rights groups and the federal government have raised alarm over potential voter intimidation at some polling places and ballot boxes.

The monitors are being sent to "protect the rights of voters," as they have for decades, the DOJ said Monday.

"Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country to protect the rights of voters," the DOJ said in a news release. "The Civil Rights Division will also take complaints from the public nationwide regarding possible violations of the federal voting rights laws through its call center."

On Election Day, the public may report possible violations of the federal voting rights laws by a complaint form on the department’s website or by telephone toll-free at 800-253-3931.

"Complaints related to disruption at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local election officials (including officials in the polling place). Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911," the DOJ said.

The 64 jurisdictions where federal monitors will be dispatched include the three Florida counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach.

WHO ARE THE ELECTION MONITORS?

The monitors are lawyers who work for the U.S. government. They are not law enforcement officers or federal agents. They generally include lawyers from the Justice Department's civil rights division and U.S. attorney's offices across the nation. The government also sometimes brings in employees from other agencies, such as the Office of Personnel Management, who are authorized to act as monitors under a federal court order.

WHY ARE THEY BEING SENT TO WATCH ELECTION SITES?

The Justice Department has sent attorneys to monitor election sites and compliance with federal voting laws for more than five decades. The department's civil rights lawyers enforce civil action tied to the voting statutes and protect the right to vote. The laws they enforce include the Voting Rights Act, along with the National Voter Registration Act and other statutes. Prosecutors in the same division also enforce criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and efforts to suppress voting based on someone's race, national origin, or religion. Some locations where they have been sent include areas where there were concerns in 2020 and locations where issues have already been raised this year.