The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will monitor 44 jurisdictions in 18 U.S. states on election day, including several jurisdictions in key battleground election states, to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.
The DOJ announcement comes one day before the Nov. 3 election and the election monitoring will be carried out by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The DOJ said the latest election monitoring action is in line with monitoring for past U.S. elections.
The full list of jurisdictions the DOJ will monitor for the 2020 election includes three locations in Arizona, six in Florida, two in Georgia, seven in Michigan, three in Pennsylvania, two in North Carolina, and one in Wisconsin — all of which are battleground states.
Eric S. Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division said, “Our federal laws protect the right of all American citizens to vote without suffering discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. The work of the Civil Rights Division around each federal general election is a continuation of its historical mission to ensure that all of our citizens can freely exercise this most fundamental American right.”
The DOJ said the election monitors would include civil rights personnel from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and civil rights and civil personnel from various U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
The DOJ said, “As in past years, monitors will focus on compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and the other federal voting rights laws enforced by the division. Monitors will include civil rights personnel from the Civil Rights Division and civil rights and civil personnel from U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Civil Rights Division personnel will also maintain contact with state and local election officials.”
Bloomberg reported the number of jurisdictions the DOJ will monitor is lower than the number they monitored during the 2016 election, under President Barack Obama’s administration. In 2016, the DOJ sent election monitors to 67 jurisdictions in 28 states.
The DOJ provided a full list of the 44 jurisdictions it would be monitoring, including:
- Coconino County, Arizona;
- Maricopa County, Arizona;
- Navajo County, Arizona;
- Los Angeles County, California;
- Orange County, California;
- Broward County, Florida;
- Duval County, Florida;
- Hillsborough County, Florida;
- Miami-Dade County, Florida;
- Orange County, Florida;
- Palm Beach County, Florida;
- Fulton County, Georgia;
- Gwinnett County, Georgia;
- City of Chicago, Illinois;
- Cook County, Illinois;
- Montgomery County, Maryland;
- City of Boston, Massachusetts;
- City of Lowell, Massachusetts;
- City of Malden, Massachusetts;
- City of Quincy, Massachusetts;
- City of Springfield, Massachusetts;
- City of Detroit, Michigan;
- City of Eastpointe, Michigan;
- City of Flint, Michigan;
- City of Hamtramck, Michigan;
- City of Highland Park, Michigan;
- City of Jackson, Michigan;
- Shelby Township, Michigan;
- City of Minneapolis, Minnesota;
- Bergen County, New Jersey;
- Middlesex County, New Jersey;
- Bernalillo County, New Mexico;
- Mecklenburg County, North Carolina;
- Wake County, North Carolina;
- Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
- Allegheny County, Pennsylvania;
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
- Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania;
- Richland County, South Carolina;
- Harris County, Texas;
- Waller County, Texas;
- Fairfax County, Virginia;
- Prince William County, Virginia; and
- City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
