Dems Cry ‘Voter Intimidation’ as DOJ Deploys Election Monitors to CA, NJ
The Justice Department announced Friday that it will send election observers to polling places in California and New Jersey for the upcoming Nov. 4 general election, citing efforts to ensure transparency and compliance with federal election laws.
According to a Ministry of Justice press releaseCivil Rights Division observers will be present in six jurisdictions: Passaic County, New Jersey; and Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles counties in California. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the initiative aims to “uphold the highest standards of election integrity” and ensure that “the American people get the fair, free and transparent elections they deserve.”
Deputy Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said “transparent election processes and election monitoring are essential tools to protect our elections and ensure public confidence in the integrity of our elections.” The Acting U.S. Attorney asserted that his office would “work tirelessly to maintain and protect the integrity of the electoral process,” while Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba added that “protecting elections means ensuring that every eligible voter can participate freely and that every legal vote is counted.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom abruptly sentenced the announcement in a video message, saying the Trump administration had “no basis” to send observers to California polling stations. “This is about voter intimidation. This is about voter suppression, period, period,” Newsom said. He accused federal officials of creating “a chill” through the “federalization of the National Guard” and described the move as similar to ICE or Border Patrol “masked men” appearing near voting locations. “They don’t believe in fair and free elections,” Newsom continued. “Our republic, our democracy is at stake.”
In a series of articles on X, Newsom wrote“Donald Trump’s puppet DOJ has nothing to do with next month’s election,” and called the move “a deliberate attempt to scare voters and undermine a fair election.” He also asserted“Trump is sending the DOJ to California to ‘monitor’ the election. His intentions are clear: he wants to suppress the vote. And when we win, he will falsely claim fraud. We will not be intimidated.”
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) also critical the plan, by writing on X:
The Justice Department’s announcement just hours before Donald Trump held a campaign event with Jack Ciattarelli has no credibility. This is clearly a political act carried out by election denier Pam Bondi. This is not about election integrity, but rather the Trump administration’s attempts to intimidate voters and sow doubt about our legitimate and secure democratic process.
Dhillon replied“Scream louder. @TheJusticeDept has been sending election observers to New Jersey for decades. We’re just here to make sure no one’s rights are violated. What’s the problem? And did you have a problem when the Democratic AGs sent the observers? Go ahead, share your tweets. We’re waiting.”
The Department of Justice note that the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The department also confirmed that it would receive complaints from the public about possible violations of federal voting rights laws up until Election Day.
This deployment comes in a context of increased surveillance of electoral procedures. Earlier this month, a California voter received two absentee ballots for the same person, an example of broader concerns about the state’s absentee voting system and ballot harvesting laws. This issue coincides with broader debates about how elections are structured nationally. Breitbart News contributor Peter Schweizer recently highlighted how race-based congressional distribution and “minority-majority” districts have tilted representation toward Democrats for decades. He noted that errors in the 2020 census and opaque federal algorithms have fueled new concerns about the fairness of elections nationwide.
