The Justice Department said Friday it will send federal election observers to California and New Jersey to monitor their Nov. 4 elections. The Trump administration said it's responding to requests from the states' Republican Party organizations, the Guardian reports, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the goal is to bolster public trust in the electoral process. Although election monitoring by the Justice Department is not unusual, the focus this time is on Democratic-led states holding high-profile elections. Democratic officials in both states immediately objected.
New Jersey: Voters will select a new governor in a race drawing significant spending from both parties. The Justice Department said the observers will be in Passaic County. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the move "highly inappropriate," saying the Justice Department "has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions," per CBS News. State Republicans asked for monitors to "oversee the receipt and processing of vote-by-mail ballots" and watch "access to the board of elections around the clock" in Passaic County.
California: The state is holding a special election on congressional redistricting that could reshape its delegation in Congress. Monitors are to be sent Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside, and Fresno counties. Republican officials cited reports of voting irregularities in those counties, per the Guardian, including issues with voter rolls and ballot distribution. A spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Justice Department lacks standing to "interfere" with California's election because the ballot contains only a state-specific initiative, no federal contests. "Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote," Brandon Richards said in an email. State and county election officials insist their processes are secure and transparent.
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The Justice Department has also requested detailed voter roll information from California and other states but has not explained why. The executive director of the Center for Election Integrity & Research said that usually when there's election monitoring, local jurisdictions agree to it, per CBS. If the administration were to send monitors without stating a clear legal rationale to a jurisdiction whose officials didn't want them, David Becker said, "That could result in chaos."
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