The Department of Justice announced that it is monitoring activities at polls in 64 locales across the U.S. to enforce "the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot.”
The Justice Department said its Civil Rights Division has routinely monitored polling sites since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The DOJ said that it is encouraging those who witness violations of federal voting laws to report them online at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by telephone at 800-253-3931.
The DOJ did not specify why these locales were chosen.
Their presence is not welcomed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The state sent a letter to the DOJ saying their monitoring would be “unproductive.”
“None of the counties are currently subject to any election-related federal consent decrees. None of the counties have been accused of violating the rights of language or racial minorities or of the elderly or disabled,” said Brad McVay, an attorney for Florida’s State Department.
The DOJ said that officials would monitor polls in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. The three counties have tended to vote for Democratic candidates in recent election cycles.