The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday it will monitor 64 jurisdictions in 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections around the country ever since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a DOJ press release noted, while adding that the division will also take complaints from the public nationwide if they think they have seen violations of the federal voting rights laws.
"The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot," the DOJ said. A list of all 64 jurisdictions was provided in the press release.
Accusations of voter intimidation have increased this election cycle, with Reuters reporting earlier this year that 1 in 5 election workers said they might quit, spooked by threats of violence following the 2020 elections.
In August, both full-time election officials in Gillespie County, Texas quit, leaving the county scrambling for the midterms, PBS reported.
More than 140 threats of violence against election workers have been reported against election workers in Maricopa County, Arizona, Axios reported.
With many supporters of former President Donald Trump upset at his loss and echoing his claims that the 2020 election was "stolen," some have applied to be poll watchers. Ostensibly, their reasoning is to prevent more "fraud" from being repeated from the last election cycle.
But the DOJ said this gives them "access to sensitive areas that could interfere with voting or ballot processing," Axios Denver reports.
In Colorado, Weld County clerk Carly Koppes told Axios she will have a zero-tolerance policy and will dismiss any poll watchers who cause a disruption.
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