Shibbir Ahmed, Washington, D.C. — For the first time in U.S. history, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is deploying election monitors across all 50 states. The initiative aims to promote transparency in the electoral process, protect voting rights, and ensure compliance with federal election laws during the 2026 midterm elections.
On Tuesday, November 3, the Justice Department announced that approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers would be deployed for this year’s elections. This marks the largest election-monitoring operation in the department’s history. Although the DOJ has deployed election monitors under previous administrations, this is the first time the initiative has covered all 50 states.
The operation is being coordinated by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The monitoring teams will include personnel from the division, representatives from other DOJ divisions and components, officials from U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management. Throughout Election Day, Civil Rights Division personnel will maintain contact with state and local election officials.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said, “Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division. 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 said election monitors would examine whether federal voting rights laws are being properly followed. The Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing the civil provisions of several federal laws designed to protect voting rights.
These laws include the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and the Civil Rights Acts.
In addition, the division’s Disability Rights Section will oversee compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure that people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote. Meanwhile, the Criminal Section will enforce federal criminal laws prohibiting voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin, or religion.
The Justice Department also announced that its officials would remain available throughout Election Day and the following week to receive public questions, complaints, and reports of potential violations involving federal voting rights laws.
U.S. residents can report election-related concerns by calling the department’s election issues hotline at 1-800-253-3931. Complaints can also be submitted by email at VEM@usdoj.gov or through the department’s website at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report.
For complaints involving the voting rights of people with disabilities, the DOJ’s ADA Information Hotline can be reached toll-free at 1-800-514-0301. The TTY number is 1-833-610-1264. Complaints can also be filed through www.ada.gov.
The department advised that any disruptions at polling places should be reported to local election officials, including officials stationed at the polling locations. Incidents involving violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at polling places should be reported immediately to local police by calling 911. After contacting local law enforcement authorities, individuals should also notify the Justice Department.
The DOJ said election monitors would be deployed in selected cities, counties, and other jurisdictions across all 50 states. The designated locations include Jefferson, Montgomery, and Mobile in Alabama; Anchorage, Dillingham, and Kusilvak in Alaska; Maricopa, Pima, Apache, and Navajo in Arizona; and Pulaski and Washington in Arkansas.
The monitoring effort will also cover Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento, and San Diego in California; Adams in Colorado; New Haven in Connecticut; New Castle in Delaware; Leon, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach in Florida; and Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Chatham, and Bibb in Georgia.
Additional locations include Honolulu in Hawaii; Ada in Idaho; and Chicago, Cook, Champaign, Sangamon, St. Clair, and Madison in Illinois. Monitors will also be assigned to Lake and Marion in Indiana; Linn and Polk in Iowa; Johnson, Wyandotte, and Sedgwick in Kansas; and Fayette and Jefferson in Kentucky.
In Louisiana, the designated areas are Orleans, East Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. In Maine, they include Lewiston, Portland, and South Portland. The monitoring operation will also cover Prince George’s in Maryland; Lowell and Boston in Massachusetts; and Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, Detroit, Hamtramck, Warren, and Dearborn in Michigan.
The DOJ’s list further includes Minneapolis, Hennepin, and Ramsey in Minnesota; Lafayette and Hinds in Mississippi; St. Louis, Jackson, and Clay in Missouri; Yellowstone in Montana; Douglas in Nebraska; and Clark in Nevada. In New Hampshire, monitors will cover Manchester and Nashua, while Middlesex, Bergen, and Union are included in New Jersey.
Other designated areas include Bernalillo in New Mexico; New York, Westchester, Kings, Albany, and Erie in New York; Alamance, Mecklenburg, and Wake in North Carolina; and Cass in North Dakota. The monitoring effort will also extend to Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Medina in Ohio; Muskogee, Tulsa, and Oklahoma in Oklahoma; and Multnomah in Oregon.
In Pennsylvania, the designated jurisdictions are Philadelphia, Allegheny, Luzerne, and Lehigh. Other locations include Pawtucket in Rhode Island; Charleston in South Carolina; Minnehaha in South Dakota; and Davidson, Knox, and Shelby in Tennessee.
In Texas, election monitors will be deployed to Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Waller, Blanco, Bowie, and Nueces. The list also includes Salt Lake in Utah; Burlington in Vermont; Charlottesville, Fairfax, Prince William, and Virginia Beach in Virginia; and King and Yakima in Washington state. The remaining designated areas are Kanawha in West Virginia; Madison and Milwaukee in Wisconsin; and Laramie County in Wyoming.
The Justice Department’s nationwide initiative is being described as the largest election-monitoring operation in U.S. history, highlighting the department’s efforts to promote election transparency and protect voting rights across the country.
