Newsmax
The Justice Department plans to send approximately 1,000 election monitors to the polls for the midterms, according to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
Appearing Monday on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Dhillon said the deployment could mark a major expansion of the department’s election-monitoring efforts as the Trump administration focuses on election integrity and voter confidence.
“We will do it to the tune of approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election,” Dhillon said, noting the Civil Rights Division has sent personnel to election “hot spots” for decades to troubleshoot problems and increase confidence in the process.
The DOJ routinely deploys monitors under both Republican and Democrat administrations to enforce federal voting laws and protect eligible voters.
The department sent monitors to 86 jurisdictions during the 2024 presidential election and 64 during the 2022 midterms, according to The Washington Post.
Dhillon said the administration has not finalized where monitors will be stationed.
Potential targets include jurisdictions with language-access or disability-access issues as well as areas where officials suspect voter fraud.
The DOJ already deployed monitors during this year’s primaries, including in Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing, and East Lansing, Michigan.
The department said its Michigan operation was intended to ensure “transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
It also monitored polling places in three Arizona counties in July.
Democrats have raised concerns about the expanded federal presence.
A group of Democrat senators recently urged the DOJ to ensure monitors remain nonpartisan and do not interfere with state and local election administration.
Dhillon, however, emphasized that election monitoring is a longstanding DOJ responsibility rather than something unique to the Trump administration.
She also said the department is confronting disputes over voter rolls, alleging that some election officials have failed to remove ineligible registrations, including noncitizens.
Dhillon said states cooperating with the DOJ have voter rolls containing hundreds of thousands of deceased people and tens of thousands of noncitizens, while stressing that officials must investigate further before accusing anyone of voting illegally.
“The goal is not so much going after one voter here or there,” Dhillon said. “It is increasing all American citizens’ confidence in our elections.”