DOJ plans to monitor elections in these 46 cities and counties to ensure voters aren’t harassed – By Chelsey Cox (CNBC) / Nov 7, 2022
- The Justice Department announced it will monitor polls in 64 jurisdictions among 24 states on Tuesday to ensure voters’ civil rights.
- States chosen for monitoring include some of the most closely watched elections of the midterm cycle.
- The department has regularly monitored elections since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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The Justice Department plans to monitor polls in two dozen states across the country to ensure no one intimidates voters or otherwise meddles with Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The department’s Civil Rights Division selected 64 jurisdictions in 24 states, including Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Nevada, for oversight in both the general election and early voting. The division routinely monitors elections in the field, starting in 1965 when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.
DOJ monitored polls in 18 states and 44 cities and counties in 2020, by comparison.
Some of the most anticipated races of the election will occur among the states chosen for monitoring. Incumbent GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is up against Democratic Rep. Val Demings for U.S. Senate. Georgia voters will choose between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and former President Donald Trump’s pick, Republican Herschel Walker. And Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., will defend his seat against venture capitalist Republican Blake Masters.