The Justice Department announced Friday it will monitor polling sites in six counties in California and New Jersey ahead of November 4 elections, as voters prepare to cast their ballots in less than two weeks.
The department said the move, which focuses on two Democratic-led states, will “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
The practice of sending federal election monitors to local jurisdictions dates back decades, though President Donald Trump has tried to assert new authority over elections.
Friday’s move comes after the Republican parties of California and New Jersey both sent letters to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division requesting monitors in certain counties and alleging election irregularities.
Nearly five years after the 2020 election, the debunked conspiracy that Trump was robbed of the election due to massive voter fraud is still embraced by many in the Republican Party.
Justice Department officials will now be sent to Passaic County in New Jersey and the following counties in California: Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles.
CNN has reached out to these counties’ election departments for comment.
Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said in a statement, “The presence of election observers is not unusual and is a standard practice across the country.”
“Federal election monitors, like all election observers, are welcome to view election activities at designated locations to confirm transparency and integrity in the election process,” Logan added. “California has very clear laws and guidelines that support observation and prohibit election interference.”
Fresno County Clerk James Kus told CNN the Justice Department “has not contacted” him about the monitoring.
“The Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters welcomes all observers for our elections,” Kus added. “It is common for us to have local, state, federal, and sometimes international observers, watching how we administer elections that are accessible, accurate, secure, and transparent.”
Enedina Chhim, community outreach manager for the Orange County Registrar of Voters, told CNN that the department was notified by the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California that two attorneys from that office will be observing elections in the county from November 4 to 7.
“Orange County elections are always transparent,” Chhim added.
Since the president’s return to office, the Trump administration has taken several steps to assert a larger federal role in elections ahead of next year’s midterms.
The Justice Department is demanding that states hand over information about their voters – including sensitive personal data, such as partial Social Security numbers – as they hunt for examples of fraud.
Trump has also sought to require voters to show proof of citizenship to vote, attempting an end-run around states and Congress. He recently pledged to act unilaterally to impose voter identification requirements on states and to end most mail-in voting, which would upend a safe and reliable voting method used by millions of Americans.
The president also signed an executive order earlier this year, seeking broad changes in how elections are run, although the Constitution primarily vests states with that power. Parts of the order have been blocked in court.
CNN’s Marshall Cohen and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.
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