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Justice Department to Monitor Polling Sites in California and New Jersey Ahead of November 4 Elections
WASHINGTON D.C. – With less than two weeks until voters head to the polls, the Justice Department announced Friday its plan to monitor polling sites in six counties across California and New Jersey for the upcoming November 4 elections. This move, targeting two traditionally Democratic-leaning states, aims to bolster “transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized the department’s commitment to election integrity, stating, “Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity.”
The deployment of federal election monitors to local jurisdictions is a long-standing practice. However, it takes on new significance as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to assert greater federal authority over election processes.
This decision follows requests from the Republican parties of both California and New Jersey, who sent letters to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division alleging election irregularities and requesting federal oversight in specific counties. The timing also comes nearly five years after the 2020 election, where the unsubstantiated claim of massive voter fraud, which has been widely debunked, continues to be embraced by many within the Republican Party.
Justice Department officials will be dispatched to Passaic County in New Jersey, and the California counties of Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange, and Los Angeles.
When reached for comment, Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan affirmed that “The presence of election observers is not unusual and is a standard practice across the country.” Logan added, “Federal election monitors, like all election observers, are welcome to view election activities at designated locations to confirm transparency and integrity in the election process. California has very clear laws and guidelines that support observation and prohibit election interference.”
Fresno County Clerk James Kus noted that his office “has not contacted” by the Justice Department regarding the monitoring, but reiterated, “The Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters welcomes all observers for our elections. It is common for us to have local, state, federal, and sometimes international observers, watching how we administer elections that are accessible, accurate, secure, and transparent.”
Enedina Chhim, Community Outreach Manager for the Orange County Registrar of Voters, confirmed that their department was informed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California that two attorneys would observe elections in Orange County from November 4 to 7. Chhim reiterated, “Orange County elections are always transparent.”
Since the President’s return to office, the Trump administration has pursued several initiatives to expand the federal government’s role in elections ahead of next year’s midterms. This includes demanding voter information, including sensitive personal data like partial Social Security numbers, from states in an effort to identify instances of fraud.
President Trump has also pushed for voters to show proof of citizenship, attempting to bypass state and congressional authority. He recently pledged to unilaterally impose voter identification requirements on states and to end most mail-in voting, a method widely used and considered reliable by millions of Americans. An executive order signed earlier this year by the President seeking broad changes to election administration has also faced legal challenges, with parts of it being blocked in court, underscoring the constitutional principle that states primarily hold power over election processes.