The Trump administration is deploying election monitors to California, New Jersey. Is that unusual?

The Trump administration is sending election monitors to New Jersey and California, two states where voters are casting ballots in politically contentious elections.

The Justice Department will send monitors to Passaic County, New Jersey, and five California counties "to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law" following Republicans’ requests in both states. 

The move raised some Trump administration critics’ ire.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said state officials will monitor the monitors. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Trump administration has "no business" sending monitors for a state election and called the actions "voter intimidation" and "voter suppression." 

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Newsom on X to "calm down."

"The Justice Department under Democrat administrations has sent in federal election observers for decades," Dhillon’s post said.

That’s true — although at times Republicans resisted. 

Election experts said monitors are a longstanding and legal federal practice. The Biden, Obama and Trump administrations sent election monitors in state or local elections. 

"They’re just there to look," said Justin Levitt, Loyola Law School professor who worked in the Biden administration. "To observe. That’s literally it."

Californians are voting on Proposition 50, which will determine the state’s congressional map.  In the New Jersey gubernatorial race, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill faces Republican former state legislator Jack Ciattarelli.

The Justice Department mentioned no plans for monitors in other Nov. 4 elections in Virginia or New York City, where voters are casting ballots for governor and mayor, respectively.

The department did not say how many monitors it will deploy in California and New Jersey.

Federal monitors have visited election sites for decades

Federal monitors have visited polling places since the Voting Rights Act’s 1965 passage. 

The Justice Department decides where to send the monitors. The designees observe and take notes — in case the department pursues further action — and prevent federal law violations.

Monitors work in the department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ offices. They are not law enforcement officers, and they don't have access to ballots or voting machines. Monitors generally are experienced Justice Department attorneys, and it’s unlikely voters would notice them, said David Becker, executive director of The Center for Election Innovation & Research.

They monitor compliance with several voting laws, including those that prevent voter suppression based on race. 

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, left, and Democrat Mikie Sherrill participate in the final debate in the New Jersey governor's race, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP)

Will monitors go inside voting sites?

A Passaic County spokesperson said monitors will be only outside of polling locations.

Ezra Rosenberg, director of appellate advocacy for the ACLU of New Jersey, said monitors typically remain outside polling places, but go inside if ordered by the court or invited by election officials. He called it unusual for the Justice Department to say it will monitor "ballot security" because typically the department monitors for Voting Rights Act compliance.

Bob Page, the Orange County, California, registrar of voters, told PolitiFact that Justice Department lawyers are allowed the same access as the public to observe at vote centers and at ballot processing.  

"It is common for us to have local, state, federal, and sometimes international observers, watching how we administer elections that are accessible, accurate, fair, secure, and transparent," Page said.

Officials in Fresno and Riverside counties in California provided similar statements about monitors’ access. 

Why did Republicans request the election monitors? 

New Jersey Republicans asked for monitors after the county board of elections blocked a Republican request to install video surveillance for stored ballots.

In California, the state GOP said there have been irregularities in recent elections. We contacted the party to ask for details and received no reply.

Groups such as the ACLU and the League of Women Voters in New Jersey maintain hotlines voters can call if they encounter problems. Groups monitoring voting rights encouraged eligible voters to cast their ballots as normal.

"Voters can have full confidence in New Jersey elections and know that they have the right to vote without intimidation or interference," said Jesse Burns, League of Women Voters of New Jersey executive director. "Department of Justice election monitoring is not unusual and they cannot interfere with a voter's ability to cast a ballot."

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