Map Shows Where DOJ Deploying Election Monitors for Midterms - Newsweek
The Justice Department on Tuesday released a nationwide list of jurisdictions in every state where federal personnel are set to monitor voting in the midterm elections in what it called the "largest monitoring effort" in the department's history.
The operation, coordinated by the department’s Civil Rights Division, will deploy about 1,000 monitors and observers to monitor "compliance with the federal voting rights" laws, the release said. The department said personnel will also remain in contact with state and local election officials throughout Election Day.
"Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice said. "I am very proud we are deploying the largest monitoring effort in DOJ history, and pursuing transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner."
Control of Congress is at stake in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Democrats fighting to take control of the House and Senate from Republicans. A Democratic takeover of either chamber could constrain President Donald Trump’s agenda during his final two years in office. This would make it harder to pass legislation and give Democrats greater power to investigate and challenge his administration.
Tuesday's deployment covers jurisdictions ranging from major population centers such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Houston's Harris County to smaller jurisdictions including Laramie County, Wyoming, and Minnehaha County, South Dakota, according to the department's list.
Newsweek has created a map showing where federal election monitors and observers are being deployed across the country for the midterms.
The Justice Department says its monitors assess whether jurisdictions are complying with federal voting-rights protections. What is different this year is the scale. The department said monitors and observers will be deployed in all 50 states for the first time. By comparison, 289 monitors were deployed for the 2022 midterms and 714 for the 2024 presidential election.
In an October 28 court filing, the Justice Department clarified that FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel would not serve as election monitors. Monitors will include employees from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ATF, DEA, and CBP. The department said those deployed will be limited to routine Civil Rights Division monitoring duties, according to court documents.
Personnel will come from the Civil Rights Division, other Justice Department components, U.S. attorneys’ offices, and the Office of Personnel Management, the DOJ said. The department said those personnel would not carry firearms or exercise law enforcement authority while serving as monitors, according to court filings.
The Trump administration has clamped down on election enforcement, citing concerns about noncitizen voting and fraud. Federal law prohibits non-U. S. citizens from voting in federal elections.
The plans drew scrutiny from voting-rights groups, including the NAACP, which sued in October seeking records and warning that the expanded federal presence could intimidate voters. The government has rejected concerns that monitors will interfere with voting and has said its personnel must follow legal and ethical restrictions.
The Trump administration’s unprecedented expansion of federal election monitoring has faced pushback from voting rights advocates and election officials. They say the increased federal presence could intimidate voters, encroach on state authority over elections and amount to federal overreach.
Election authorities in at least five states have restricted, challenged or prepared additional oversight of the federal operation. Officials in Indiana and Kentucky, Washington County, Arkansas, and Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota have said Justice Department monitors cannot enter polling places without legal authorization or local permission.
Minnesota and California have also arranged for state or local personnel to track federal monitors. Officials in Wyoming criticized what they described as aggressive and irregular conduct during the August primary, allegations the department disputes. The Justice Department has maintained its personnel will follow state and local laws, observe and report possible violations, and not interfere with voters or election officials.
Trump and hard-line MAGA Republicans also pushed the SAVE America Act. This would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections and photo identification to vote. The House passed the measure in February, but it stalled in the Senate.
The administration’s election push has also faced setbacks in court. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday blocked federal officials from sending states lists purporting to identify potential or actual noncitizen voters, while allowing individual citizenship checks through the federal SAVE system and prosecutions for violations of federal law.
The DOJ said Monday it had charged 195 noncitizens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration offenses during the previous nine weeks. It added that 239 people had been charged with voting fraud-related offenses since the current administration took office.
Trump, who continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen, told supporters at a Republican convention in Dallas in September to "try and cheat like hell." His administration has characterized its expanded monitoring operation as part of an effort to protect election integrity.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Register for our November 10 discussion, 'Newsweek Webinar: How the Politics of AI Could Shape Midterms,' which will examine how AI policy played in key races, data centers, lobbying and the political lines that emerged.
Update, 3/11/26 9:59 a.m. ET: this article was updated with additional information.
