Trump DOJ to send federal monitors to Oregon’s Multnomah County on Election Day

Federal lawyers on Thursday alerted Oregon officials that they will send election observers to Multnomah County for the Nov. 3 midterm, prompting Oregon’s secretary of state to remind voters about the limited powers those individuals have.

It’s not the first time election monitors have been sent to Oregon and to counties in other states. But the type of monitors being deployed, President Donald Trump’s recent attempts to assert federal power over state elections and his continued denial of the results of the 2020 election where he lost to former President Joe Biden are heightening concerns among state leaders.

Oregon is, so far, one of at least 10 states that have received notices from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice notifying election officials that observers will be deployed. The others are Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Washington.

Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the division, told Fox News last month that the department planned to send 1,000 observers across the country. She characterized it as the “largest monitoring effort” in the agency’s history. Dhillon has repeatedly denied the 2020 presidential election results.

DOJ spokespeople did not immediately respond to Oregon Capital Chronicle questions Friday morning regarding how many monitors would be sent to Multnomah County and why the county was selected.

Typically monitors are civil lawyers and department support staff who are sent to areas to ensure civil rights laws are enforced at polls. But under Trump, the agency is also deploying criminal prosecutors as monitors for the first time.

In a statement Friday, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read reminded voters that Oregon’s counties have clear rules for election observers to follow. Monitors are not allowed to talk to election workers, interfere in conversations between election workers and voters, take photos or videos of sensitive information, or handle any ballots or official election materials. Monitors are not allowed to enter restricted election facilities and cannot inspect voting equipment. They also can’t handle ballots or demand access to any election records under state rules.

Monitors sent to Wyoming during a primary election earlier this year acted irregularly and aggressively, according to the state’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who asked the Wyoming attorney general’s office to investigate the monitors’ behavior, including requests to examine voting machines.

“Oregon’s elections are secure, accurate and fair, and we always welcome observers to watch our American election process unfold,” Read said. “But let’s be clear: It is not legal for these observers or anyone else to interfere with Oregon’s elections — even the Department of Justice. We are prepared. We will follow the law, and we will make sure the Department of Justice does the same.”