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.
The monitors will assess whether federal voting-rights laws are being followed as Americans cast ballots in the 2026 midterm elections.
The operation is being coordinated by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and includes personnel from the division, other DOJ components, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.
“Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said Tuesday.
Dhillon described the deployment as “the largest monitoring effort in DOJ history.”
Justice Department personnel will remain in contact with state and local election officials throughout Election Day.
The monitors will assess compliance with federal laws including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and the Civil Rights Acts.
The department will also monitor compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure voters with disabilities have equal access to the ballot.
Federal law also prohibits voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.
Largest election monitoring operation in DOJ history
Justice Department election monitoring is not new. The Civil Rights Division has deployed personnel to monitor elections since the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965.
What is new is the scale.
During the 2022 midterm elections under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department monitored 64 jurisdictions across 24 states.
This year, the department says approximately 1,000 monitors and observers will operate across selected jurisdictions in every state.
The deployment includes major population centers and politically significant jurisdictions across the country, including Los Angeles, Miami-Dade County, Fulton County in Georgia, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and several counties in Texas.
The Justice Department said its personnel will remain available throughout Election Day and the remainder of the week to receive questions and complaints concerning potential violations of federal voting-rights laws.
Voters can report federal voting-rights concerns to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931 or through the department’s online civil-rights complaint system.
Local disruptions at polling places should first be reported to local election officials, while threats, violence or intimidation should be reported immediately to local law enforcement, the Justice Department said.
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