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DOJ deploying election monitors to Alameda County
The U.S. Department of Justice said it plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states, making it the largest election monitoring operation in the agency’s history. In California, the monitors will be deployed to Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento and San Diego counties.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The U.S. Department of Justice said it plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states, making it the largest election monitoring operation in the agency’s history and the first time reaching every state in the nation.
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In California, the additional federal monitors will be deployed to Alameda, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties, according to a DOJ news release.
The release was not specific about where exactly the monitors would be observing.
But Alameda County Registrar of Voters Cynthia Cornejo told KTVU on Tuesday morning that she was informed there would be four teams out countywide, though she didn't know where.
She said the monitors would be dressed in business casual, and they would be wearing a badge identifying themselves. She added that the monitors must check in at the voting centers they would be visiting, as well as sign in.
"We've met with them as we have in the past," Cornejo said, adding that this is not the first time the DOJ has deployed such election monitors.
The monitoring effort is being coordinated by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and has been since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, according to a news release by the Department of Justice.
Officials say monitors will include personnel from the Civil Rights Division, other Justice Department components, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.
Big picture view:
According to the department, monitors will assess compliance with federal voting rights laws enforced by the Civil Rights Division. Those laws include the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and provisions of the Civil Rights Act.
Election integrity
What they're saying:
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Bay Area voters' concerns ahead of Election Day
According to the California Secretary of State's office, of the roughly 6.5 million ballots that have already been cast, more than 6 million were sent in by mail. Ballot boxes in the Bay Area have seen plenty of traffic leading up to Election Day. We caught up with some voters in Alameda to hear about their concerns, not only with election integrity, but also about the issues most important to them.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who used to be the GOP chair in California, said election integrity remains a top priority for the Trump administration, saying, "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."
The Justice Department says throughout Election Day, Civil Rights Division personnel will remain in contact with state and local election officials and will be available to receive complaints and questions related to federal voting rights laws.
The deployment comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's push to force California to set aside thousands of ballots from people the federal government claims are noncitizens, a decision that came hours before the final day of voting in the pivotal midterm elections.
The Republican administration has prioritized identifying noncitizen voters this year, despite them being rare. California officials said the administration's list appeared to be filled with errors and that setting the ballots aside could effectively disenfranchise legal voters.
Local perspective:
Voters are encouraged to report election-related concerns through the DOJ’s hotline, email or through an online compliant portal on their website.
Officials said disruptions at polling places should be first reported to local election authorities, while threats, intimidation and violence should be immediately reported to local law enforcement.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by a news release from the Department of Justice, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Cynthia Cornejo and the Supreme Court ruling. This story was reported from Orlando and Oakland.