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https://abcnews.go.com/US/gop-led-states-federal-poll-monitors-voting-locations/story?id=115356555
Some Republican-led states will not allow federal poll monitors at voting locations on Election Day, officials told ABC News on Thursday.
The Department of Justice has a long-held tradition of deploying election monitors across the country to "help assess compliance with federal voting laws," according to the department. But recently, in some states, Republicans have blocked federal authorities from monitoring both federal and non-federal elections.
In Texas, a spokesperson for the state's Republican secretary of state told ABC News in a statement that federal monitors are not authorized to be inside polling locations.
Instead, state inspectors will be deployed to "various locations" throughout Texas, the spokesperson said.
Texas Democrats have raised concerns about the decision, penning a letter to the Department of Justice in September asking federal officials to intervene and exercise its authority to monitor the state's five most populous counties.
"Recent actions by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have increased the urgency for federal election monitors in our state," the letter said of the governor and attorney general, who are both Republicans.
The group of Texas Democrats also said in the letter that the move by the state to block federal monitors affects minority voters.
"As the largest minority state under total conservative control, Texas voters -- particularly minority voters -- are constantly under attack for merely attempting their rights," the letter said.
The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, which was created in 1957 to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination, has regularly dispatched poll monitors to ensure compliance with federal voting laws, particularly in communities with vulnerable populations.
Some Republican-led states will not allow federal poll monitors at voting locations on Election Day, officials told ABC News on Thursday.
The Department of Justice has a long-held tradition of deploying election monitors across the country to "help assess compliance with federal voting laws," according to the department. But recently, in some states, Republicans have blocked federal authorities from monitoring both federal and non-federal elections.
In Texas, a spokesperson for the state's Republican secretary of state told ABC News in a statement that federal monitors are not authorized to be inside polling locations.
Instead, state inspectors will be deployed to "various locations" throughout Texas, the spokesperson said.
Texas Democrats have raised concerns about the decision, penning a letter to the Department of Justice in September asking federal officials to intervene and exercise its authority to monitor the state's five most populous counties.
"Recent actions by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have increased the urgency for federal election monitors in our state," the letter said of the governor and attorney general, who are both Republicans.
The group of Texas Democrats also said in the letter that the move by the state to block federal monitors affects minority voters.
"As the largest minority state under total conservative control, Texas voters -- particularly minority voters -- are constantly under attack for merely attempting their rights," the letter said.
The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, which was created in 1957 to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination, has regularly dispatched poll monitors to ensure compliance with federal voting laws, particularly in communities with vulnerable populations.
