At least two red states—Florida and Missouri—have made clear to the Biden Department of Justice that their federal election monitors are not welcome in their states’ polling places.
The Justice Department announced on Monday “plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 64 jurisdictions in 24 states” on Election Day to “protect their rights of voters.”
Monitors will include personnel from the Civil Rights Division and from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. In addition, the division also deploys monitors from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order. Division personnel will also maintain contact with state and local election officials.
According to the Federalist, the Biden DOJ is dispatching its civil rights attorneys to “mostly blue and swing counties across the country” as part of an effort to rig the election.
What stands out about the 64 jurisdictions the DOJ plans to “monitor” is that they are mostly Democrat strongholds or swing districts in states with key midterm contests such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
These blue and swing counties are facing increased scrutiny this year by RNC and GOP activists — who after nearly 40 years are finally permitted to coordinate poll watching with the national committee and file voting-related lawsuits, as Democrats have been able to do all along. But now these DOJ attorneys, under the guise of protecting “voting rights,” can help Democratic operatives get around election integrity objections at the polls and avoid scrutiny
Brad McVay, General Counsel of Florida’s Department of State, said federal monitors are lacking “specific statutory authorization,” and are not permitted under Florida law.
In a letter to John “Bert” Russ, Deputy Chief & Elections Coordinator of the Voting Section in the Civil Rights Division, McVay said that absent any evidence concerning the need for federal intrusion or federal statute that preempts Florida law, “the presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counter productive and undermine confidence in the election.”
Here’s the full letter pic.twitter.com/xIh5CcxKW4
— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) November 8, 2022
Missouri’s Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is also letting the Civil Rights Division of the Biden Justice Dept. know that its election monitors are not authorized to be at polling sites on Election Day, and are not welcome.
Ashcroft took to Twitter Sunday afternoon after a Cole County election authority received a letter from Charles Thomas, the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, informing him that DOJ staff would be present at polling sites “reviewing Cole County’s voting program on Election Day.”
“While the U.S. DOJ could clearly learn a lot from Missouri about non-partisanship and how to administer accessible, secure and credible elections, it would be highly inappropriate for federal agents to violate the law by intimidating Missouri voters at the polls on Election Day,” Ashcroft wrote.
This email was sent by the DOJ to one of our election authorities. pic.twitter.com/eQ0eN3rBKd
— Missouri SOS Office (@MissouriSOS) November 6, 2022
“Under Missouri law, the local election authority is empowered to decide who, other than voters and poll workers, may be at polling locations,” Ashcroft continued. “Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer has rightfully declined to allow this over-reach and the secretary of state’s office fully supports him.”
Ashcroft added that if the Biden Justice Department wished to discuss the matter further, they should meet at his office “instead of trying to bully a hard working county official.”