Justice Department plans about 1,000 observers across every state
Election Day polling places are expected to be watched by a combination of Democratic-aligned volunteers, federal personnel, Republican poll workers and nonprofit observers. Democratic and nonprofit organizations have trained tens of thousands of people to stand outside polling places and report activity they consider concerning, while the Justice Department is preparing its largest-ever election-monitoring operation. The Republican National Committee has enlisted nearly 22,000 poll workers and is recruiting volunteers in competitive districts.
Democratic groups and outside watchdogs say the scale reflects concern that President Donald Trump will use federal resources to interfere in a midterm that could hobble his final two years in office. Trump has continued to make what the Associated Press described as baseless allegations of cheating in the election. Jane Kleeb, the Democratic National Committee’s vice chair, said: “We’ve never done this before.” Kleeb said Democrats were preparing for Trump’s statements that he may seize ballots and put Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside polling locations.
The Justice Department has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska that could affect ballot counting or certification. Administration and military officials said they have no plans to deploy immigration agents or troops to polling sites. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis blamed “radical Democrats” for creating fears by refusing to enact voter ID requirements and other Republican-backed measures. “President Trump has done more than any other president to ensure we have free and fair elections,” Bis said.
State Democratic parties have trained an estimated 10,000 volunteers to observe polling places and report anything potentially concerning they might see from federal agents. Common Cause has trained roughly 16,000 more volunteers, said Suzanne Almeida, the group’s vice president of states. Almeida said a broader Election Protection coalition involving 300 other groups has trained tens of thousands more.
Smaller volunteer efforts include roughly 100 people organized by Senate Democrats and hundreds more from Democratic-aligned Save America, which is training clergy members, veterans, teachers and other local community members. Indivisible and MoveOn are activating their own networks. The broader effort also includes the American Civil Liberties Union, congressional leaders, national activist groups and organizations focused on protecting democracy.
The Democratic National Committee created a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity unit staffed by former CIA and FBI officials to monitor and report online misinformation, including artificial intelligence deepfakes, Kleeb said. Democratic mayors, attorneys general and secretaries of state are hosting tabletop exercises that simulate a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at voting locations or the seizure of ballots and voting equipment. On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders have assembled a legal team that the Associated Press said rivals that of any presidential campaign.
The Justice Department plans to send about 1,000 staff to observe voting and ensure federal laws are followed, spokesperson Kiersten Pels said. The department plans to place the monitors in every state, focusing on high-population areas, jurisdictions that have had problems in the past and districts with close elections, according to a senior department official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
Asked on CBS’s “60 Minutes” whether the Republican administration planned to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places, Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, responded: “There is no plan to do that.” Pels said department monitors are trained to comply with federal law and will not “interfere with the voting process.” Justice Department officials also said the monitors would not be armed and would not interfere with voting. Trump, asked about monitors being sent to Georgia, said: “They’re not going to do anything other than watch.”
Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates have raised concerns that the Trump administration’s monitors could intimidate voters or abandon the duty they have had for decades to protect against civil rights violations. Federal monitors have quietly observed elections for decades, largely without incident, and the Justice Department said it deployed more than 100 election monitors across hundreds of polling locations during the primary season.
At least one of those primary placements sparked tensions with local officials. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, said the behavior of two monitors during his state’s primary was “a bit aggressive” and “irregular.” A Laramie County clerk said the Justice Department monitors arrived intending to interview voters, but her office did not allow it. The department disagreed that the monitors did anything improper, Pels said.
Some local officials took precautions as the larger operation approaches. Chris Swope, the city clerk in Lansing, Michigan, said he contacted law enforcement and his attorney in case federal monitors violate election law, although he expects them to follow the rules. The Democratic Mayors Association issued detailed guidance to local Democratic officials on federal agents at polling locations. The guidance says federal law prohibits the presence of federal immigration agents, the FBI or other investigative personnel, and reminds officials that federal agents may not be armed, interact with voters or handle ballots or election equipment.
The Republican National Committee said its operation includes election integrity deputy state directors in 22 states, among them Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina. Ally Triolo, the RNC’s election integrity communications director, said the workers recruit volunteers and organize trainings; she said their mission is to surface anything that seems unlawful. The committee has enlisted nearly 22,000 poll workers and is recruiting poll watchers in competitive districts, who will “observe the process and help ensure election rules are followed in accordance with the law,” Triolo said.
Because so many organizations are working to protect the voting process, and many cannot legally coordinate with each other, some officials involved worry about unintentionally creating confusion outside polling locations. Almeida said confusion is possible in some precincts, but said the nature of the threat required a collective effort. “It will actually take all of us if some of the threats we are most worried about come to pass,” she said.
Some poll observations have already begun. Mary Corcoran, Save America’s executive director, said the group’s volunteers had monitored precincts during early voting in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio to help give voters a sense of security. “The fear is the point, and we must do something about it,” Corcoran said. “Left unanswered, fear does the work of keeping people home without a single agent setting foot at a polling place.”