DOJ to Deploy Election Monitors Across Multiple States
As the United States gears up for upcoming primary elections, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the deployment of election monitors to several states, including Arizona. This initiative is aimed at ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws and enhancing voter confidence.
Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, confirmed in a video statement that monitors will be sent to areas with potential past election issues. “We’re sending the monitors into cities and counties where there may have been some problems in the recent elections so this is something that DOJ does routinely,” she stated.
Arizona, along with Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia, will see these monitors in action. Notably, this is not the first time such measures have been implemented. In 2024, during the Biden administration, the DOJ also dispatched monitors to four counties in Arizona, as documented here.
While the deployment is part of routine operations, Dhillon emphasized that this year’s initiative will particularly focus on ensuring that polling places operate correctly and efficiently. In Arizona, the counties of Maricopa, Apache, and Pima have been identified as areas of interest, according to Dhillon.
The states selected for monitoring include both purple and blue states, with Arizona, Michigan, and New Hampshire featuring historically mixed political landscapes. Dhillon mentioned having “personal knowledge of there being problems in the past” in some jurisdictions.
As the general election approaches, Dhillon suggested an expansion of this monitoring program. Her stance aligns with her previous support for President Trump’s unproven claims about the 2020 election, which led to an audit in Maricopa County confirming President Biden’s victory.
Arizona’s current Democratic Governor, Katie Hobbs, expressed vigilance in response to the DOJ’s actions. She stated, “We’re going to be watching this very closely and we’re working closely with election officials across the state to ensure that our elections are secure.”
Furthermore, Dhillon has committed to prosecuting local election officials if noncitizens are found on voter rolls, as per her recent pledge. This follows last year’s DOJ request for voter data from all states, which Arizona’s Secretary of State Adrian Fontes refused, supported by a federal judge’s ruling now under appeal. More details on this can be found here and here.
