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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that agents from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not serve as poll monitors in the upcoming midterm elections. Instead, employees from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be deployed, as reported by Newsweek.
The decision follows a lawsuit filed by the NAACP, which sought to prevent law enforcement personnel from serving as election monitors. The DOJ clarified that these monitors will observe, take notes, and interview willing voters outside polling places. They are prohibited from interfering with voting and cannot carry firearms, according to The Hill.
Eric Neff, acting chief of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division Voting Section, stated in a court filing that the monitors would not act in a law enforcement capacity. Neff emphasized that the DOJ's approach is consistent with past election cycles. The DOJ has not finalized all locations for monitor deployment and has not set a deadline for completing this list before Election Day.
The announcement comes amid scrutiny over federal law enforcement's presence at polling places, following incidents involving federal agents near early voting sites in Florida. In one instance, U.S. Border Patrol vehicles were seen outside a Tallahassee library, prompting a complaint to the FBI. However, the vehicles were reportedly there for unrelated reasons, Yahoo News reported.
The DOJ's decision aims to ensure that the election process remains free from intimidation and interference, while maintaining the integrity of the voting process.