- On Wednesday, the Justice Department said FBI and ICE agents will not serve as poll monitors during the midterm elections, addressing concerns over federal law enforcement presence at voting sites.
- The NAACP filed suit to bar law enforcement from monitoring, arguing the Trump administration’s plans amount to voter intimidation as it pursues increasingly aggressive election oversight and voter-registration data collection.
- While FBI and ICE agents are excluded, the Justice Department confirmed employees from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ATF, DEA, and one CBP official will serve as monitors, prohibited from carrying firearms.
- Eric Neff, acting chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Voting Section, filed a declaration in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia confirming monitors will observe polling places and take notes.
- Scrutiny persists following two incidents involving federal agents near early voting sites in Florida; although the Trump administration claims no plans to patrol sites, President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and FBI Director Kash Patel declined to rule out presence.
THE ARTFUL DILETTANTE
Keeper of the Flame of the Enlightenment
