Some Republican-led states are refusing to allow Justice Department monitors into polling places

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Republican-led states say they will block Justice Department poll watchers from entering polls on Election Day, pushing back against federal action. decades of practice to monitor for violations of federal election laws.

Officials come in Florida And Texas have declared that they will not allow federal election observers into the polling stations on Tuesday. And on Monday, Missouri filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to ban federal officials from observing at polling places. Texas followed with a similar lawsuit seeking to permanently ban federal surveillance of elections in the state.

The Justice Department announced last week that it was sending election observers 86 jurisdictions in 27 states on election day. The Justice Department declined to comment on the Republican-led states' moves, but filed court documents asking the judge to reject Missouri's request.

The race between Democratic candidates Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump It's a dead heat, and both sides are bracing for possible legal challenges to stop the votes from being counted. The Justice Department's election surveillance efforts, a long-standing practice under both Democratic and Republican administrations, are intended to ensure that federal election laws are being followed.

Here's a look at poll watchers and the states' actions:

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Who are the election observers?

Election observers are lawyers who work for the Justice Department, including in the Civil Rights Division and in U.S. attorney's offices across the country. They are not police officers or federal agents.

For decades, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has sent lawyers and staff to monitor polling places across the country in both federal and non-federal elections. The monitors are tasked with ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division enforces a number of laws protecting voting rights. This includes the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and threats against those casting ballots or counting votes. This includes the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires election officials to ensure that people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote.

“The Department of Justice has been addressing Election Day issues to protect the voting rights of Black citizens and other communities of color for nearly 60 years,” said Edward Casper, acting co-general counsel at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “While some of the recent attempts to intervene in this process may seem more like bark than bite, they still pose a real threat to the enforcement of civil rights,” he said.

Where are election observers sent?

The 86 jurisdictions where the Justice Department will send observers on Tuesday include: Maricopa County, Arizona And Fulton County, Georgia, which became the center of election conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and other Republicans in 2020. Another place on the list is Portage County, Ohio, where a sheriff came under fire Social media post In it, he said that the addresses of people with Harris signs should be recorded so that immigrants can be sent to them if the Democrat wins the presidency.

Other areas where federal observers will be sent include Detroit; Queens, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Jackson County, South Dakota; Salem, Mass.; Milwaukee; Manassas, Va.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; and Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska. The Justice Department observers will be stationed in St. Louis, four jurisdictions in Florida and eight jurisdictions in Texas.

What's happening in Missouri?

In filing the lawsuit Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said state law “clearly and specifically limits who can be at polling places.” He also accused the federal government of “attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri’s elections.”

The lawsuit states that Missouri law “allows only certain categories of persons to be present at polling places, including voters, minor children accompanying voters, poll workers, election judges, etc.,” and not federal officials.

The Justice Department also attempted to monitor polling places in Missouri in 2022. The agency planned to station officers in Cole County, which includes Jefferson City, the state capital. County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer said he wouldn't let them in if they showed up.

The federal agency relented after Ashcroft presented the state law to Justice Department officials, Ashcroft said. He says the Justice Department is now “trying to go in the back door” by asking local election officials for access.

Messages were left with the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners on Monday.

In court papers filed late Monday, the Justice Department said it was authorized under a settlement agreement with the St. Louis board to conduct surveillance there to ensure people with mobility and vision disabilities had access to polling places. The agreement was reached in 2021 under Trump's Justice Department after federal officials found problems such as ramps that were too steep and inaccessible parking lots, according to court documents. The agreement, which expires next year, states that the board must “cooperate fully” with the Justice Department's efforts to monitor compliance, “including, but not limited to, ensuring timely access by the United States to polling places ( also on election day).”

The Justice Department said an attorney and an investigator from the Division of Disability Rights were in St. Louis on Tuesday to investigate accessibility. The department conducted such inspections “on several occasions” as part of the settlement agreement, including during local elections in April, government lawyers said in court documents.

What do the other states say?

In a letter to the Department of Justice on Friday, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson wrote: “Texas law is clear: Department of Justice observers have no access to polling places where ballots are cast or to a central counting station where ballots are counted.” ”

“Texas has robust processes and procedures in place to ensure eligible voters can participate in a free and fair election,” Nelson wrote.

In a similar letter, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd told the Justice Department on Friday that Florida law determines who can enter the state's polling places and does not include Justice Department officials. Byrd said Florida is sending its own observers to the four jurisdictions where the Justice Department plans to send staff, and they will “ensure that the voting process is not compromised.”

__ Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed reporting and Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri.