Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261103-603
Trump DOJ deploys 900 poll monitors as civil rights lawyers warn of intimidation
The Justice Department says it will send about 900 people to monitor polling places in all 50 states, up from about 100 in 2024, as Democratic attorneys general and civil rights groups say they are prepared to fight any effort to interfere with voting or challenge ballot counts.
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The Trump administration's monthslong push to challenge how states run elections reached Election Day on Tuesday, with the Justice Department telling a federal judge it expected to deploy 900 people to monitor polling places in all 50 states 1. A department lawyer, Kathryn Barragan, said that in 2024 there were about 100 monitors 1. The department separately has said it will deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers 1.
The monitors were discussed at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, where Judge Reggie Walton was considering an emergency request by the NAACP to bar the department from using monitors who are law enforcement personnel from federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Prisons 1.
Civil rights lawyers warn of three aims
John Cusick, assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, a civil rights group, said the administration has used the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to target election procedures this cycle for three main reasons 1.
First and foremost, it's an attempt to intimidate voters and election officials
Cusick also pointed to letters the Justice Department sent to state election officials warning them of potential criminal prosecution if they fail to retain election records 1. He said the letters have created a chilling effect 1. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment by CNBC for its article, and has previously defended its election-related efforts 1.
From Channel GOPBash asks Blanche: Is your job helping Republicans?Todd Blanche · 223 plays · captioned, with the source named
Voting by noncitizens and other ineligible voters is a federal crime, and the department will enforce the law whether a case involves one illegal ballot or hundreds
Democratic attorneys general say they are ready
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told CNBC on Monday evening that he and the 23 other Democratic state attorneys general have spent months preparing for Election Day and for potential actions by the administration 1. He said California officials would quickly seek relief from the courts if extreme events occurred, and noted the state has laws making it a criminal offense to remove ballots from the custody and control of an election official 1.
We're ready for National Guard or ICE or Marines at polling stations near polling stations, armed people near polling stations
In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, convened the entire Senate Democratic Caucus on Sunday night for a briefing by himself and election attorney Marc Elias on what a Democratic aide described as the current landscape of election threats 1. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private briefing 1.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, asked on Oct. 22 whether there was any scenario in which the Justice Department would try to block states from certifying their election results, said such a scenario was possible 1. He also said it is not the department's intention to improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process 1.
What happens next
The administration could continue such efforts beyond Election Day 1. On Monday, multiple federal courts were handling urgent motions in election-related lawsuits and appeals by and against the administration 1. In one case, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to block California from counting about 20,000 mail-in ballots from voters whom the department suggests might not be U.S. citizens; hours later, the Supreme Court rejected that request without any noted dissents 1.
That matters because the president and the executive branch have no official role in administering elections, which are handled by the states under the Constitution, Cusick and other experts noted 1. In her ruling Sunday dismissing the department's Alaska Senate lawsuit, District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said the administration was making requests that involve the time, place and manner of Alaska's election, which are the responsibilities of the state, not the executive branch 1.
Control of Congress is on the line Tuesday. Democrats need to win four Republican-held Senate seats and net three Republican House seats to flip either chamber 2. Results will begin to trickle in at 6 p.m. Eastern time, and the final tabulation of votes could take days or even weeks 2.
The Record
- Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters there are scenarios in which the Justice Department could try to block states from certifying election results 1.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer convened the Senate Democratic Caucus for a briefing on election threats 1.
- A Justice Department lawyer told Judge Reggie Walton the department expected to deploy 900 people to monitor polling places in all 50 states 1.
- The Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department's request to block California from counting about 20,000 mail-in ballots, without any noted dissents 1.
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Sources
- CNBC, “Trump DOJ election lawsuits and monitors loom over 2026 midterms” (2026-11-03). cnbc.com/2026/11/03/trump-doj-election-lawsuits-monitors-202
- The Hill, “Your hour-by-hour guide to 2026 midterm elections” (2026-11-03). thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6181540-2026-midterm-election-
- The Guardian, “The candidates who will decide the US midterm elections” (2026-11-03). theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/nov/03/midterm-e
- CBS News, “Here's what the U.S. is voting on today for the 2026 midterm elections” (2026-11-03). cbsnews.com/news/what-us-voting-on-november-2026-elections/
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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