Overview
- The Justice Department will monitor Passaic County in New Jersey and the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno.
- Officials say the goal is to ensure transparency, ballot security and compliance with federal law during the off-year elections.
- The Civil Rights Division, led by Harmeet K. Dhillon, will run the effort in coordination with U.S. attorneys’ offices and local election officials.
- Democratic leaders, including New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, criticize the plan as inappropriate or intimidating, while county election officials describe federal observers as routine.
- The stakes include New Jersey’s gubernatorial race and California’s Proposition 50 on congressional redistricting, and the DOJ says it is accepting additional monitoring requests.