DOJ deploying 1,000 poll monitors for midterms, official says

DOJ deploying 1,000 poll monitors for midterms, official says

by Ashleigh Fields - 08/18/26 11:41 AM ET

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to deploy 1,000 poll monitors during the midterm elections to ensure that several laws are upheld throughout the voting process.

DOJ has already deployed more than 75 monitors across five states and more than 200 polling locations this primary season, according to a release.

"Election monitoring is an ongoing priority for this office," Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

"Nondiscriminatory monitoring ensures all elections remain free, fair, and accessible to all," she added.

Poll monitors will observe whether states are upholding the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act through its procedures.

Under former President Biden, the DOJ launched similar efforts to deploy poll monitors in 22 states during the 2022 midterm election season and 27 states during the 2024 presidential election.

The DOJ sent poll monitors to Arizona and Michigan under Biden and will now do the same under President Trump.

The president has also deployed monitors to Florida, Wyoming and Minnesota, where he's highlighted claims of mass fraud organized by Somali immigrants.

Throughout his second administration, Trump has launched a campaign of mass deportation and has supported accusations that noncitizens have been voting in federal elections.

Last month, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) announced the state discovered more than 6,000 noncitizens were registered to vote because of a software error in the state's Motor Vehicle Commission.

In an attempt to prevent migrants without legal status from voting, Trump has been pushing to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

However, the measure has been stalled in the Senate for months as Democrats raise concerns that it will increase voter disenfranchisement.

Poll monitoring will be based in communities with large populations of immigrants, including Miami-Dade County, which is home to the largest Cuban immigrant population in the United States, and Michigan's Wayne County, which is home to the largest concentration of Arab and Middle Eastern immigrants and Arab American populations in the country.

Amid the deployment of poll monitors, Democratic lawmakers have railed against the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at voting precincts, citing the issue of voter intimidation.

"Our elections have been kept safe and reliable by state and local officials during the entire history of our nation. There is absolutely no need for federal troops to be stationed outside of polls, and any such attempt is part of Donald Trump's efforts to intimidate eligible voters," Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) said in a statement last month.

"Not only would this action be unlawful, it goes against the political foundation of this country and threatens every American's right to vote," she added.