Nikki McCann Ramirez
View all posts by Nikki McCann Ramirez November 3, 2026 Add us as a Google Preferred Source
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People line up to cast their ballots at a polling location during the midterm elections in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 3, 2026. A.M STEWART/AFP/Getty Images Election Day has finally arrived. Americans are headed to the polls, and that means the Trump administration is preparing ways to cast doubt on any unfavorable results.
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it is deploying 1,000 federal “election monitors” to polling places around the country. The monitors will be sent to critical races across all 50 states, including Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Maine, Iowa, and Minnesota. The mobilization comes as Republicans are expected to lose control of the House of Representatives, and may also be stripped of their Senate majority.
According to a press release issued by the DOJ, monitors will include personnel from the DOJ Civil Rights Division — headed by longtime Trump ally and conservative operative Harmeet Dhillon — as well as “other DOJ divisions/components, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.”
“Throughout Election Day, Division personnel will maintain contact with state and local election officials,” Dhillon wrote. The announcement contained a tip line where individuals could report suspected violations of election law.
Local outlets, including NBC Connecticut, have reported that the federal monitors will not be identified as members of the DOJ or law enforcement, and will be at polling places in plain clothes. Journalists have also pointed out that many of the districts and counties where the monitors will be deployed lean heavily Democratic, or represent the bluest strongholds in states across the political spectrum.
In the run up to Election Day, Trump has already begun lobbing accusations of fraud in critical races. The president said in October that he would respect the results of the election … as long as he felt that they were “honest.” Trump has, of course, never encountered a Democratic victory he considered “honest.”
The administration has accused Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola of fraud — and demanded she be removed from the race — after reports that her campaign recruited a candidate with the same name as Republican Dan Sullivan to run as a ballot spoiler.
