Overview
- The Justice Department stationed Civil Rights Division staff at selected polling places and registrar offices to oversee compliance with federal voting laws.
- The deployments followed requests from Republican leaders citing alleged irregularities, including ballot security concerns in Passaic County and duplicate or flawed ballots in California.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta pledged to deploy state observers to “monitor the monitors,” and New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the federal presence “highly inappropriate.”
- ICE said it is not targeting polling locations for enforcement but noted that a “dangerous criminal alien” found near a site could be arrested during a targeted operation.
- Early data show Latino turnout roughly on pace with prior elections, with some voters reporting fear of enforcement and others expressing determination to vote, while California officials highlight universal mail-in voting as a safeguard against in-person intimidation.