Justice Department Places Federal Monitors in Three Alabama Counties

The U.S. Department of Justice placed federal election monitors in Jefferson, Montgomery, and Mobile counties in Alabama on Tuesday. Officials from the DOJ Civil Rights Division coordinated the deployment. This marks the first time the agency has monitored elections in all 50 states simultaneously.

State law restricts the monitors from entering polling places. They may only station themselves outside with greeters. It remains unclear which specific precincts the observers visited in the three counties. The DOJ stated the monitors are verifying that federal voting rights laws are being followed.

Mobile County Probate Judge Mark Erwin discussed expectations with the Justice Department last week. He described the presence of the monitors as a standard procedure for Election Day. "They have instructions from the Department of Justice. I’m not 100 percent sure what those are other than just to monitor for any issues related to the election. And again, that is a typical situation. We typically have a liaison with the U.S. Department of Justice on Election Day to provide another source of communication in case they see issues that we need to respond to," Erwin said.

Erwin estimated that between six and eight observers would be present in Mobile County. He reported no concerns about disruptions to voting activity on Tuesday.

The monitoring effort aims to ensure election integrity across the country. The Civil Rights Division is leading the coordination of this nationwide initiative.