DOJ election monitors to be deployed in four Pennsylvania counties on election day

The U.S. Department of Justice notified Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt last week that it plans to send federal election monitors to observe polling places in four Pennsylvania counties on election day. The counties are Allegheny, Lehigh, Luzerne and Philadelphia.

The deployment is part of a nationwide effort. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, has said the department intends to send out 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states on Nov. 3, a larger number than typical. 

Election monitors’ roles are purely observational. They are not allowed to interfere with voting and receive no greater access to polling places than members of the general public.

“Our monitors only observe and take notes,” the letter to Schmidt said. “They do not intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process … Monitors follow all rules of the state and jurisdiction.”

The DOJ has deployed election monitors in virtually all past elections under Democratic and Republican administrations. Historically, their goal has primarily been to observe compliance with the Voting Rights Act, such as ensuring access to non-English language services in places where that’s required.

The letter to Schmidt added that monitors will introduce themselves to poll managers, but will not wear uniforms or pins identifying themselves as working for the DOJ. It also said they do not speak with voters inside polling places and are forbidden from carrying firearms.

If monitors observe issues at a polling place, they can notify someone at the Justice Department, who may then contact the affected jurisdiction.

“The Pennsylvania Department of State expects everyone working in, voting in, and observing polling places to follow all applicable state and federal laws,” spokesperson Matt Heckel said in a statement. “We encourage [DOJ monitors] to coordinate with local election offices where they will be present to ensure that their activities do not disrupt the voting process.”

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said at a virtual press conference with the nonpartisan elections education group Keep Our Republic that the DOJ sent election monitors to her county in the 2022 and 2024 elections as well.

“We have nothing to hide and we will follow state law, which means they will be able to monitor, but not go into, the polling places,” she said.

She also noted that other groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have intend to send observers to polling places as well. They are similarly not allowed to interfere with the voting process.

Former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican who previously served as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and as an employee of the DOJ, added that monitors are not allowed to engage in partisan activity.

“It’s not unusual to have monitors in certain locations,” he said. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.