Oct 28 (Reuters) – The US Department of Justice said late on Wednesday that agents and employees from the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will not be serving as monitors during the midterm elections.
Here are some details:
• In a court filing in a federal court case brought by civil rights organization NAACP, which advocates for racial justice and rights for Black Americans, the Justice Department said election monitors will not be acting as law enforcement personnel while monitoring
• The poll monitors will mainly observe polling places, take notes and will be prohibited from carrying firearms, the filing said
• The Justice Department said monitors have been trained not to interfere in voting and to follow state and local rules, consistent with past practice
• While employees from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will serve as monitors, the Justice Department said no FBI or ICE employees will serve as monitors
• The filing came after the NAACP sued to bar prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel from serving as monitors, arguing the Trump administration’s plans amount to voter intimidation
• The Trump administration has taken an increasingly aggressive approach to election oversight, pressing states for voter-registration data and arguing stricter measures are needed to ensure public confidence in the vote
• Some officials told Reuters this month that they are preparing for potential federal interference in the midterm elections
(Reporting by Sumedha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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