Trump’s DOJ to send election monitors to Kentucky’s two largest counties on Nov. 3

Kentucky election officials say they have been alerted by the U.S. Department of Justice that election monitors will head to the state’s largest cities for next week’s general election. 

A DOJ attorney sent an emailed letter to Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams and Kentucky State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Sellers about the election monitors on Wednesday. 

The Kentucky effort comes as the DOJ plans to send 1,000 election monitors to polls across the nation during a heated midterm election. The DOJ has sent election monitors to review activities in past elections, including during the Biden administration, but this fall is expected to be the DOJ’s largest endeavor. 

A copy of the letter reviewed by the Kentucky Lantern says the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ “intends to send election monitors to two counties (Jefferson and Fayette) in your state on November 3, 2026.” The counties are home to Louisville and Lexington, the state’s largest cities, and both are Democratic strongholds. 

“The monitoring by the Civil Rights Division is done in the same way as in the past.  Our monitors only observe and take notes. They do not intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process,” the letter said, adding that monitors will introduce themselves to poll managers.

The monitors are not supposed to speak to voters inside the polling places, the letter says. Adams’ office did not have a public comment as of Monday afternoon. 

Quin Welch, a spokesperson for the Fayette County Clerk’s Office, said in a statement that FCCO officials met with DOJ representatives Monday afternoon to discuss the plans. 

“DOJ representatives said on the call that election monitors in groups of two to three will visit polling places in Fayette County to check for ADA compliance, provisional ballot distribution and required language assistance,” Welch added. “Election monitors are required to follow state law and FCCO will continue to work with its partners at the state and federal levels to ensure election monitors’ compliance with Kentucky election law.”

Jefferson County Clerk David Yates’ office also said the DOJ plans to focus on language assistance for voters, accessibility at polling locations and provision ballot use in a press release. Yates’ office added that “the Clerk’s Office has informed the DOJ that routine federal monitoring inside polling locations is not authorized under Kentucky law absent other applicable legal authority” and the county clerk provided “alternative ways for DOJ representatives to raise concerns, access public election information, and report potential voting-rights issues for prompt review.”

“While no formal documentation has been received, the DOJ has indicated that approximately a dozen federal monitors are expected to visit Louisville,” Yates said. “These individuals are DOJ employees serving as civil election monitors. They are not federal law enforcement officers and will not be serving in a law enforcement capacity.”

Josh Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky said the DOJ election monitors are a “normal” part of an election.

“The federal government often sends federal monitors to polling places,” he added.

The Lantern sent an email seeking additional information to the DOJ Monday afternoon, such as why Fayette and Jefferson were selected out of 120 counties. A DOJ spokesperson said that election monitors will be in “all 50 states, including Kentucky, doing the routine election monitoring the department has done for decades.”

“We will have around 1,000 monitors in counties throughout the United States, but we will not share the full list until Election Day,” the spokesperson added. “Every monitor will merely observe and report any potential violations of federal law to the Department, which will be reviewed after Election Day.”

When the president held a rally in Northern Kentucky earlier this month, signs with a QR directed attendees to protectthevote.com, paid for by the Republican National Committee, to sign up to become an “election integrity volunteer,” and offer to watch polls. 

Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Colmon Elridge said in a statement: “With his own popularity plummeting, it’s no coincidence Trump is singling out areas ready to elect and reelect Democrats like Zach Dembo and Congressman Morgan McGarvey.” Dembo is the Democratic candidate in the 6th Congressional District, which includes Fayette County. McGarvey is the incumbent in the 3rd Congressional District in Jefferson County.

“As part of our commitment to full and fair elections in Kentucky, we will not tolerate any interference,” Elridge said. “We expect and demand that federal monitors follow all rules.”

This story has been updated with additional comments.