Justice Department Sending Monitors to 18 States Ensure Compliance With Voting Laws

The seal of the United States Department of Justice on the building exterior of the United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

The Department of Justice will provide staff in 44 jurisdictions in 18 states throughout the United States “to monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws” on Election Day, the agency announced in a Nov. 2 news release.

“Federal law entrusts the Civil Rights Division with protecting the right to vote for all Americans,” said Eric S. Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, in the statement. “Our federal laws protect the right of all American citizens to vote without suffering discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. The work of the Civil Rights Division around each federal general election is a continuation of its historical mission to ensure that all of our citizens can freely exercise this most fundamental American right.”