Justice Department Sends Monitors to 24 States to Ensure Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws

As the 2022 midterm elections unfold, the Justice Department has announced that it will send monitors to 64 jurisdictions in 24 different states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws. This move follows concerns over potential voter intimidation at polling places and ballot boxes, particularly in Maricopa County, Arizona, where people have been reported watching ballot boxes, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests. Democrats have also expressed concerns over the potential for voter suppression. In contrast, Republicans have accused the Justice Department of "trying to bully a hard-working county official" in Cole County, Missouri, where local election officials have blocked the monitors.

Key Takeaways:

• The Justice Department will send monitors to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws, including locations where concerns over voter intimidation have been raised.
• The monitors are lawyers from the Justice Department's civil rights division and U.S. attorney's offices, who will be responsible for enforcing voting statutes and protecting the right to vote.
• In Maricopa County, Arizona, there have been reports of people watching ballot boxes, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests, and the Justice Department has warned about the potential for violations of the Voting Rights Act.
• In Cole County, Missouri, Republican election officials have pushed back against the Justice Department's efforts to review voting access, with the county clerk declining the Justice Department's request to monitor the polls.
• The monitors will be in regular touch with election officials in the locations and will watch for signs of disruption to voters' ability to cast ballots.
• There is also a call-in line for voters to report any instances of discrimination at polling places.
• The Justice Department has sent monitors to election sites for more than five decades to enforce voting laws and protect the right to vote.

Statistics:

• The Justice Department plans to send monitors to 64 jurisdictions in 24 different states.
• In Maricopa County, Arizona, there have been reports of people watching ballot boxes, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests.
• The Justice Department has warned about the potential for violations of the Voting Rights Act in Maricopa County.
• In Cole County, Missouri, 4 Department of Justice staffers planned to visit polling sites on Election Day to briefly question poll officials as part of a review in coordination with the civil rights division.
• The monitors will be in regular touch with election officials in the locations and will watch for signs of disruption to voters' ability to cast ballots.

Sources:

• "Justice Department to send monitors to 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting laws", Michael Balsamo, AP News
• Associated Press writer Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.
• "Explaining the Elections", AP News
• "2022 Midterm Elections", AP News