Justice Department to send a record 1,000 monitors to polling places in midterm elections
Updated on: August 18, 2026 / 5:54 PM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- Justice Department to deploy 1,000 federal monitors for midterm elections.
- Monitors aim to ensure compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act.
- This is a significant increase from previous elections (289 in 2022, 714 in 2024).
- DOJ will recruit federal employees, including DOJ staff and those in U.S. Attorney's Offices, as monitors.
- The Civil Rights Division faces staffing challenges after significant staff departures.
- DOJ has filed lawsuits seeking states' unredacted voter data to ensure clean rolls, facing resistance from states.
- Some states, like Arizona, are questioning the DOJ's deployment of monitors for primary elections.