Republican leaders in several key states are vowing to keep federal election monitors away from voting sites in the name of election integrity, spurring anger from many who say the party is doing the opposite of protecting voters’ rights.

In Texas, Democrats are calling for the involvement of federal election monitors as an added layer of assurance that voting is being carried out fairly and democratically in the state.

But the GOP is fighting to keep the federal observers out, even filing lawsuits — like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did on Nov. 4 — to “prevent weaponized federal agencies from interfering in our elections.”

But what is it that federal election monitors do?

Federal observers

A lot of attention has been paid to the subject of election integrity since former President Donald Trump’s failed 2020 campaign and the subsequent attempt on Jan. 6 by some of his supporters to prevent the certification of the election’s results — which came after Trump’s repeated suggestions that the election was stolen from him.

And election integrity remains front and center in the 2024 presidential election, especially with polls showing Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck-and-neck in the presidential race. A small number of votes in a swing state could make all the difference.

On Nov. 1, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would be dispatching monitors to 27 states, in 86 jurisdictions, to keep an eye on polling places on Election Day. In addition to Texas, Republicans in Florida and Missouri are also seeking to block federal observers.

While states have their own poll watchers, the federal government has their own, most of whom are attorneys and staff for the Department of Justice.

The observers operate under the direction of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which will also be in contact with election officials at the state and local levels, the department said. However, it’s unclear how much access, if any, they will have to voting sites.

“The Justice Department enforces federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all eligible citizens to access the ballot,” the department said. “The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country.”

Federal observers look out for things like discrimination, voter intimidation or any similar actions that could unfairly influence the results of an election, the department says. If violations are found, the DOJ’s Criminal Division can step in and take action.

‘What do they have to hide?’

Federal poll watchers are nothing new, experts say, though the resistance against them is.

“The Department of Justice has a nearly 60-year history of addressing Election Day issues to safeguard the voting rights of Black citizens and other communities of color,” Edward Caspar, acting co-chief counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told Fortune. “While some recent efforts to interfere in this process may appear more bark than bite, they still pose a real threat to civil rights enforcement.”

It’s unclear if federal officials believe there is a serious threat of civil rights violations or undemocratic behavior in the jurisdictions they’re targeting, but some local leaders say there’s no harm in having some extra eyes on the election process.

“I would ask them this. What do they have to hide?” Rodney Ellis, a Houston-area county commissioner, told TV station KTRK regarding resistance from Texas Republicans.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Republican, said there’s no need for federal poll watchers and any claims to justify their presence are “a sham,” the station reported.

“This is not real, and the people who are saying this should be asked to prove it. Where are their facts about voter suppression? Because there are none,” he said, according to the outlet.

____

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.