Republican-Led States Resist Justice Department Election Monitors as National Guard Prepares for Potential Unrest

As the 2024 presidential election approaches, certain Republican-led states are resisting the presence of Justice Department election monitors at polling stations, challenging a long-standing federal practice aimed at ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws. Officials from Florida and Texas have announced that they will not allow federal election monitors into polling locations on Election Day. Additionally, Missouri has filed a federal lawsuit to obtain a judicial order barring federal agents from observing activities within polling places.

The Justice Department had planned to deploy election monitors to 86 districts across 27 states, including key locations such as Maricopa County in Arizona and Fulton County in Georgia, which were focal points for election conspiracy theories in 2020. However, the actions by Florida, Texas, and Missouri are set to hinder this effort. Missouri’s lawsuit argues that state law restricts who can enter polling places and excludes federal officials.

In a related development, over two dozen states have expressed their readiness to dispatch National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in the aftermath of the presidential election and leading up to the inauguration, in preparation for potential unrest. This move is a precautionary measure following the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. Guard officials are proactively preparing for the possibility of unrest surrounding the congressional certification of the election on January 6 and the subsequent inauguration.

Former President Donald Trump has also been pushing for the presidential winner to be declared on election night, despite the complexities and decentralized nature of the U.S. electoral system. Trump’s demands are at odds with the realities of vote counting, which can take several days, especially in competitive elections. The decentralized system, where nearly 10,000 distinct jurisdictions handle their own vote counting, contributes to the longer tallying time.

The competitive nature of the election, with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump in a tight race, has both parties preparing for possible legal disputes regarding vote counts. The Justice Department’s election monitoring initiative, upheld by both Democratic and Republican administrations, aims to ensure adherence to federal voting rights.