Federal voting monitors headed to New Haven on Election Day, state and local officials say
Four voting monitors will be in New Haven on Tuesday, according to city and state leaders. The Trump administration is sending 1,000 monitors across the country as the critical midterms approach.
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The U.S. Department of Justice is sending voting monitors to New Haven on Election Day, according to city and state officials.
It’s part of a national effort by the Trump administration focused heavily on Democratic cities.
In Connecticut, the monitors face strict rules about where they can be and what they can do, but some voters are worried about intimidation tactics.
ELECTION MONITORS
Two teams of two federal monitors will arrive in New Haven for voting on Tuesday, according to Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas. It’s unclear which specific polling locations are affected.
“They expressed interest in sending election monitors to New Haven,” she told News 12. “The monitors are purportedly coming to look at accessibility because New Haven is one of the many locations in Connecticut that require Spanish-language materials.”
DOJ plans to deploy 1,000 plainclothes monitors across the country, primarily in Democratic cities like Philadelphia and Atlanta and in hotly contested congressional districts.
This year’s deployment is a major escalation over previous elections. In 2022, the Biden administration sent monitors to 64 locations across the country.
Monitors “have been instructed ... not to intrude in any way” but can “talk to voters outside the polling place after the voter has cast his or her ballot," DOJ said in a Wednesday court filing. The department said it is not sending FBI or ICE agents to polling locations.
DOJ did not respond to a request for comment on Friday
ELECTION SECURITY OR INTIMIDATION?
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker believes President Donald Trump is trying to intimidate voters.
“Given President Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine and cast doubt on free and fair elections across the nation and given the politicization of the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration, we believe posting federal election monitors at polling places would be counterproductive and make our polling places feel less accessible,” he said.
During primary elections earlier this year, Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon called DOJ monitors’ tactics “a bit aggressive” and “irregular,” including asking to examine vote tabulators.
LIMITS ON MONITORS
Under state law, federal monitors and law enforcement must stay 75 feet away from polling sites. Law enforcement is banned within 250 feet, except for emergencies.
Thomas said state leaders have planned for possible disruptions.
“Everyone is briefed on the new laws and we reiterated them to the DOJ last night, so I don’t expect them to break the law,” Thomas said. “If the law is broken, the attorney general's office would get involved. Local law enforcement would get involved.”
Some voters said they cast a ballot now to avoid any issues on Election Day.
“That’s one reason I voted early,” said Norwalk voter Jeff Meier. “I didn’t want to get caught in any of the disruptions that he’s promising. By ‘he,’ I’ll remain nameless because I’m sure everyone knows exactly who I'm talking about.”
As of Thursday, nearly 400,000 Connecticut residents voted, according to Thomas’ office.
