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DOJ Deploys Over 1,000 Election Monitors Across All 50 States
Confirmed
In Short: Voters across the United States are heading to the polls on Tuesday for the high-stakes midterm elections, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) deploying over 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states, a substantial increase from previous years.
Voters across the United States are heading to the polls on Tuesday for the high-stakes midterm elections, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) deploying over 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states, a substantial increase from previous years.
According to DOJ, the monitors will be dispatched to all 50 states, with an initial estimate of around 900 monitors due to initial difficulties in identifying and training personnel. The monitors will include officials from outside agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons and the Drug Enforcement Administration, though they will be clerical workers and not authorized to carry firearms.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who previously served as majority leader, expressed a mix of optimism and caution. 'I'm always going to be somebody's ally if they're willing to work with me on something that's right for the country, but I will be a thorn in their side if they are wrong,' Schumer said, adding that he was 'nauseously optimistic' about the election results.
The deployment of election monitors is a routine practice across administrations, typically involving staff from the DOJ Civil Rights Division's Voting Section. However, the announcements have been subject to growing criticism from Democrats in recent months, given the Trump administration's aggressive pursuit of voter data.
In Westchester County, New York, a voting problem is being caused by the thickness of paper ballots, which is preventing voting machines from accepting ballots at polling locations across the county.
The Westchester County Board of Elections is working to resolve the issue, and election officials in other states are also preparing for potential challenges on Election Day.
Sarah Heinle, head election official for Cass County, North Dakota’s most populous county, said she spoke with DOJ officials Friday morning and learned the department will send a handful of election monitors on Tuesday.
The deployment of election monitors is part of a broader effort to ensure the integrity of the voting process and address concerns about potential election subversion.
While January 6th showed Americans what one vivid form of election subversion looks like, schemes of that sort rarely announce themselves with the clamor of an insurrection.
Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. Attorney in Seattle, and Pete Serrano, the top federal prosecutor in eastern Washington, said they believe that many of the more than 400 registered voters are green-card holders, who have legal immigration status but are not U.S. Citizens and cannot vote in federal elections.
What this adds
The increased deployment of election monitors is a significant change from previous years, reflecting heightened concerns about election integrity.
What's confirmed
- The department's statement says it will dispatch a total of roughly 1,000 monitors to all 50 states -- though in a court hearing Monday an official estimated the number was closer to 900, because the department was having initial difficulties identifying and training personnel for the effort in time for Election Day.
- DOJ has also disclosed it is pulling in officials from outside agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons and the Drug Enforcement Administration to join the election monitoring effort, though an official assured a federal judge yesterday that all from those agencies would be "clerical" workers who are not authorized to carry guns as part of their daily work.
- Election monitor deployments are a routine practice across administrations typically with staff from the DOJ Civil Rights Division's Voting Section, though the announcements have been subject to growing criticism from Democrats in recent months given the Trump administration's aggressive pursuit of voter data that they say is intended to ensure undocumented immigrants aren't registered to vote.
- The demonstration took place at Hostages Square, three days before Israel’s general election, the first since the war on Gaza began.
What's still developing
- "We'll see if he will actually change his ways and join," Schumer said.
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- Our partners at PolitiFact are fact-checking multiple competitive 2026 midterm races across the United States, online misinformation, lawsuits and allegations of fraud on Election Day.
- The Department of Justice is sending election monitors to three parishes in Louisiana ahead of Election Day.
- Trump amplified the threat on Truth Social : “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” The administration’s tactics in California mirror what the Department of Homeland Security tried in Nevada, where Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed nearly 16,000 noncitizens were on the voter rolls and sent a letter to state officials pressuring them to review each case.
- Brazil stocks are plunging as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unexpectedly won re-election in Sunday's runoff vote vs. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
- Market snapshot: The United States has deferred potential military strikes against Iran until after the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, citing ongoing productive discussions.
- The public intervention by the prominent hedge fund manager, who is Jewish, comes just two days before Israel’s general election, in which polls show a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition.
- Sarah Baxter: If the GOP lose the House and Senate, they know who to blame The US President has cleared his White House diary to concentrate on the midterm elections.
- This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.
- - FOX 13 is your home on Election Day for minute-by-minute news and updates, including expert political analysis and election results.