Republican-led states are pushing back against the Justice Department’s long standing practice of sending federal election monitors to polling locations on Election Day. Officials in Florida and Texas announced they would block these federal monitors from entering polling sites on Tuesday, and on Monday, Missouri filed a lawsuit to prevent federal officials from observing inside polling places. Texas also filed a lawsuit to permanently ban federal monitoring of state elections.
Last week, the Justice Department announced plans to deploy election monitors to 86 jurisdictions across 27 states to watch for compliance with federal voting laws. While the department declined to comment on the lawsuits, it filed court documents urging a judge to reject Missouri’s request to bar federal monitors.
The race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump remains close, with both parties preparing for potential legal disputes over vote tallies. The Justice Department has routinely monitored elections under both Democratic and Republican administrations to protect voting rights.
