The Justice Department announced Friday that it will send election monitors to polling places in California and New Jersey for the upcoming Nov. 4 general election, citing efforts to ensure transparency and compliance with federal voting laws.
According to the Justice Department Press releaseCivil Rights Division monitors will be present in six jurisdictions – Passaic County, New Jersey; and California’s Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles counties. Attorney General Pamela Bondy said the initiative is intended to “maintain the highest standards of election integrity” and guarantee that “the American people receive the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said that “transparent election processes and election monitoring are important tools to ensure the security of our elections and the public’s confidence in the integrity of our elections.” The Acting U.S. Attorney confirmed that his office “will work tirelessly to preserve and protect the integrity of the election process”, while Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Hubba said that “Election security means ensuring that every eligible voter can freely participate and that every valid vote is counted.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom reacted sharply condemned The announcement was made in a video message, claiming the Trump administration had “no basis” to send monitors to California polling sites. “This is about voter intimidation. This is about voter suppression, period, full stop,” Newsom declared. He accused federal officials of creating “fear” through the “federalization of the National Guard” and described the move as akin to ICE or Border Patrol “masked people” appearing near polling locations. Newsom added, “They don’t believe in fair and free elections.” “Our republic, our democracy, is in danger.”
In a series of posts on X, Newsom wrote“Donald Trump’s puppet DOJ has nothing to do with next month’s election,” and called the move “a deliberate effort to intimidate voters and undermine a fair election.” He too emphasis on this“Trump is sending the DOJ to California to ‘monitor’ the election. His intentions are clear – he wants to suppress the vote. And when we win, he will falsely claim fraud. We will not be cowed down.”
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) also criticized Plan, write on X:
The Justice Department’s announcement, made hours before Donald Trump was to hold a campaign event with Jack Ciattarelli, has no credibility. This is clearly a political act led by election denier Pam Bondi. This is not about election integrity, this is about the Trump Administration attempting to intimidate voters and cast doubt on our legitimate and secure democratic process.
Dhillon express reaction“Cry out loud. @TheJusticeDept has been sending election monitors to New Jersey for decades. We’re just here to make sure no one’s rights are violated. What’s the problem? And did you have a problem when the Democrat AGs sent monitors? Go ahead, share your tweets. We’re waiting.”
Justice Department noted The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Uniformed and Foreign Nationals Absentee Voting Act. The department also confirmed that it would receive public complaints about potential violations of federal voting rights laws in the lead up to Election Day.
The deployment comes amid intense scrutiny of election processes. Earlier this month, a California voter get Two mail-in ballots for the same person, an example of broader concerns about the state’s mail-in system and ballot-harvesting laws. The issue coincides with a broader debate over how elections are structured across the country. Breitbart News contributor Peter Schweizer recently Thrown light on How race-based congressional apportionment and “minority-majority” districts have tilted representation toward the Democrats for decades. He said errors in the 2020 Census and opaque federal algorithms have fueled new concerns about election fairness across the country.
