LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Justice Department is preparing to send federal election observers to California and New Jersey next month, targeting two Democratic states that hold off-year elections at the request of state Republicans.
The Department of Justice on Friday announced plans to monitor polling places in Passaic County, New Jersey, and five southern and central California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno. The Justice Department says its purpose is to “ensure transparency, voting security, and compliance with federal law.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement to The Associated Press that “transparency in public opinion polls instills confidence in the election process, and the Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity.”
Election monitoring is a routine part of the Justice Department’s day job, but all eyes are on California and New Jersey, where elections with national implications are scheduled to be held on Nov. 4. Governor’s vacancy Attracting major spending from both parties, California is holding a special election to: Redraw the state’s legislative map The move is to counter Republican gerrymandering efforts in other areas ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Justice Department’s effort is also the latest salvo against Republican concerns about election integrity since the president took office. donald trump spent years refuse to accept the results About the 2020 election and lies Fence prohibiting mail-in voting Like fraud is rampant. Democrats are concerned that the new administration will try to gain an advantage in next year’s midterm elections with similarly baseless allegations of fraud.
The announcement came days after Republicans in both states sent letters to the Justice Department asking for assistance. Some leading Democratic politicians in each state strongly criticized this decision.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the move “highly inappropriate” and said the Justice Department “has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions.”
“No amount of election interference by the California Republican Party can silence the voices of California voters,” California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said in a statement.
California’s Congressional Districts in Crisis
A letter from the California Republican Party sent Monday and obtained by The Associated Press asked Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to provide monitors to oversee elections in five counties.
“We have received reports of fraud in these counties in recent elections, and we are concerned that this could undermine voter participation and confidence in the announced results,” Republican Party Chairman Colin Rankin said in a statement.
The state is scheduled to vote on the redistricting proposal on November 4th. Dramatically redrawing the course of the California Legislature It would add five more Democratic seats to the U.S. House of Representatives.
They claim the counties named have recently experienced voting problems, including sending incorrect or duplicate ballots to voters. They also raise questions about how Los Angeles and Orange counties manage their voter rolls.
California is at least one of the following 8 states The Justice Department filed the lawsuit as part of a broader request. Voter list details At least half of the states will be involved. The ministry did not say why it needed the data.
Brandon Richards, a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom, said the Justice Department has no standing to “interfere” with California’s elections because the ballots include only state-specific initiatives and not race in federal elections.
“The deployment of federal troops appears to be an intimidation tactic aimed at suppressing voting,” he said in an email.
Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page said anyone who wants to monitor election activities in the county is welcome, and said it is common to have local, state, federal and even international observers. He called Orange County’s elections “accessible, accurate, fair, secure and transparent.”
Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said election monitors are standard practice across the country and continually update and verify voter records in the county, which has 5.8 million registered voters.
“Voters can be confident that their ballots will be processed securely and counted accurately,” he said.
Polling places are typically relatively quiet on Election Day, as most Californians vote using mail-in ballots returned through the Postal Service, drop boxes, or local voting centers. But in an effort to ensure accuracy and count every vote, the nation’s most populous state has a reputation for counting that can stretch for weeks, sometimes longer.
It took until early December for Democrat Adam Gray to declare he would become president in 2024. winner His Central Valley district held the last nationally decided congressional election last year.
Passaic County, New Jersey targeted
California’s request was similar. Letter sent by New Jersey Republicans Ahead of the state’s gubernatorial election, it asked the Justice Department to send election observers to suburban Passaic County to “supervise the receipt and processing of mail-in ballots” and “monitor access to the Board of Elections 24 hours a day.”
The New Jersey Republican State Committee told Dillon that federal intervention is needed to ensure an accurate vote count in the state. Counties with large Latino populations it is It was once a stronghold of the Democratic Party.became president donald trump’s Column about last year’s presidential election.
The county could be crucial to Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s hopes against Democrat Mikie Sherrill. But the letter cited past incidents of voter fraud in the county and claimed there was a “long and sordid history” of mail-in voting shenanigans.
In 2020, judges ordered new elections A seat on the Paterson City Council, Passaic County’s largest city, was up for grabs after the apparent winner and others were charged with voter fraud.
Platkin said the state is committed to ensuring elections are fair and secure. He said in response to the Justice Department’s announcement that the attorney general’s office is “considering all options to stop acts of voter intimidation and election interference.”
Election observers are nothing new.
Observers from both political parties are already stationed at local election offices and polling stations across the country to ensure rules are being followed. The Justice Department has a long history of sending observers to jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations to ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws.
Last year, while the Biden administration was still in power, some Republican-led states said he would not allow federal monitors. To access your polling place on election day.
Trump has long railed against mail-in voting as part of his repeated policies. false claims That former president joe biden victory In 2020, manipulation took place. He claims the U.S. election is riddled with fraud, even though numerous studies have found no evidence of widespread fraud.
At the beginning of this year, President Trump promised Banning mail-in voting nationwide is what he wants. I don’t have the strength to Under the U.S. Constitution.
The Justice Department’s efforts will be overseen by the Dillon Office for Civil Rights, which will coordinate staffing with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and work closely with state and local authorities, the agency said.
The department is also soliciting further requests for oversight in other jurisdictions.
David Becker, a former Justice Department attorney who has served as an election observer and trained election observers, said the job is typically handled by attorneys at the department who are prohibited from interfering with polling places.
But Becker, now executive director of the Center for Election Integrity and Research, said local governments typically agree to have observers present.
If the government tries to send observers to places where local authorities don’t want them without a clear legal basis, “it could create chaos,” he said.
___
Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
