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DOJ Deploys 1,000 Election Monitors for Midterms
· Confirmed
In Short: The Department of Justice is deploying approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states for the 2026 midterm elections.
The Department of Justice is deploying approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states for the 2026 midterm elections, marking the first nationwide operation of its kind and the largest election-monitoring effort in the department’s history, according to CBS News and WSMV.
States will begin reporting election results after their polls close, with the first polls closing at 6 p.m. And the last at 9 p.m. EST, as reported by CBS News.
School board elections are happening across the country, with Ballotpedia covering elections for roughly 8,000 seats across more than 2,700 districts in 30 states and Washington, D.C., as reported by News.
Incumbent school board candidates have won re-election 82.5% of the time on average since 2018, with incumbents winning an average of 56% of the seats up for election, according to News.
In Baltimore, incumbent Commissioner Ashley Esposito, incumbent Commissioner Kwame Kenyatta-Bey, Jamar Day, and Domonique Flowers are running in the general election for two at-large seats on the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, according to News.
Early voting has surged in the 2026 United States midterm elections with more than 50 million Americans casting their ballots as of Sunday, according to an analysis by the University of Florida, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Sarah Heinle, head election official for Cass County, North Dakota’s most populous county, said she spoke with Department of Justice officials Friday morning and learned the department will send a handful of election monitors on Tuesday, according to Valleynewslive.
CBS News' 'America Decides: Election 2026' live coverage on TV and cable starts Tuesday at 7 p.m., according to CBS News.
What this adds
The deployment of 1,000 election monitors by the DOJ is a significant increase from previous years and reflects the growing importance of election monitoring in the United States.
Background
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is deploying a record number of election monitors to polling places across the country for the 2026 midterm elections, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon promising to send as many as 1,000 monitors.
The U.S. Department of Justice is deploying a record number of 1,000 poll monitors across all 50 states for the 2026 midterm elections.
What's confirmed
- States will begin reporting election results after their polls close.
- The Justice Department is deploying approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states Tuesday, marking the first nationwide operation of its kind and the largest election-monitoring effort in the department’s history.
- Multiple state election offices confirmed to Votebeat that they received identical letters dated Oct. 29 and signed by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.
What's still developing
- Davis (D) are running unopposed for Districts 2 and 6, respectively.
- "political philosophy centers [on] what his community wants and needs."
- He recently said on social media he would not hit Iran again before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
- While some races may be called on election night, closely contested contests could take days or weeks to resolve.
- President Isaac Herzog said the election was a "badge of honour" for Israeli society.
- With polls showing that Netanyahu and his governing coalition are slipping in their struggle to retain power in the upcoming October 27 election and lag behind the opposition bloc, an endorsement from the president of the United States is a powerful statement.
- This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.
- Contact information for these public servants can be found through the nonpartisan, nonprofit U.S. Vote Foundation, which compiles contact information for election jurisdictions throughout the nation.