Justice department begins notifying counties where it wants to monitor elections this November

Counties receive notices

The Justice Department began contacting counties this week about Election Day monitoring, NPR reported. The list includes counties in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Washington, and may continue to expand.

The department has not identified all the locations it plans to monitor or given a total number for November. Spokesperson Kiersten Pels said those details would come closer to the election.

A larger monitoring plan

The Justice Department has observed elections for years. In 2022, during the Biden administration, it monitored 64 jurisdictions across 24 states on Election Day. Last month, Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said the department intended to send 1,000 observers nationwide. She described the planned operation as the department’s largest monitoring effort.

State and local concerns

Officials in three states told NPR that state governments were not initially notified when counties began receiving notices. After NPR asked the department about the omission, officials in multiple states said they received notification.

Questions from earlier primaries

Most states reported no incidents involving Justice Department monitors during primary elections earlier this year. Wyoming’s Republican governor, however, raised concerns about monitors’ conduct during the state’s August primary.

Laramie County’s Republican clerk told NBC News the monitors disregarded state election laws and administration. Pels rejected the description of the two monitors as aggressive or improper and said Dhillon later met with Wyoming officials.