The U.S. Justice Department announced Friday that it will send federal election monitors into five California counties ahead of the special election on November 4: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno. The DOJ will also send monitors into Passaic County in New Jersey, which is holding a gubernatorial election on November 4.
The DOJ says it wants to “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.” Skepticism abounds. That’s in part because of the brazenly political nature of the current DOJ which, among other things, has moved to criminally prosecuted President Trump’s political opponents following direct, public pressure from Trump himself.
Governor Gavin Newsom, who is backing a controversial redistricting measure for California, flatly stated that “Donald Trump's puppet DOJ has no business screwing around with next month's election.”
“Sending the feds into California polling places is a deliberate attempt to scare off voters and undermine a fair election,” he added. “We will not back down. Californians decide our future — no one else."
In a post on X, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the DOJ’s monitoring plans unnecessary and urged residents not to feel intimidated:
“Let me assure the administration: Los Angeles City and County's elections are safe and secure. All Angelenos receive ballots in the mail, thousands have already voted, there is no need to vote in person so there is no need to send anyone to monitor our Vote Centers. For those few Angelenos who do vote in person they need not fear anything and they should not have to be in fear of their government. Washington DC—we got this!”
County election officers have received the news much more favorably than the Governor. Both Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan and Fresno County Clerk James Kus said they welcomed the move.
“The presence of election observers is not unusual and is a standard practice across the country,” Logan explained.
Kus similarly told CNN that it’s “common for us to have local, state, federal, and sometimes international observers, watching how we administer elections that are accessible, accurate, secure, and transparent.”
According to Political Data Inc., as of October 24, 3.7 million voters have already cast ballots in the November 4 election.