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Justice Dept. plans 1,000 Election Day monitors in all 50 states
DOJ officials said about 1,000 monitors will observe Nov. 3 voting in every state. Stateline, PBS News and CBS News described a larger-than-2022 effort and mixed reactions from state officials.
The Justice Department plans to send about 1,000 election monitors to polling places in all 50 states on Nov. 3, department officials told Stateline, PBS News and CBS News1,2,3.
Spokesperson Kiersten Pels told States Newsroom the department would not disclose the full list of monitored locations until Election Day1. A senior official who briefed reporters said the monitors, including department lawyers, would not be deployed to early-voting sites2. Pels said monitors would observe and report possible federal-law violations for review after the election1.
Outlets differed on how the 2026 plan compares with recent cycles. A department official told PBS News the 2022 midterm deployment was 388 people2. A department official told CBS News the 2022 figure was 289 and that 714 people monitored the 2024 presidential election in 27 states and 86 jurisdictions3. Stateline said the Biden-era 2022 effort covered 64 jurisdictions in 24 states1.
Some counties have already been notified. Stateline reported monitors bound for King County, Wash.; the Portland, Ore., area; Salt Lake County, Utah; and Portland and Lewiston, Maine1. Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican, said the department offered assurances that monitors would not approach voters or wear insignia1. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said her office would watch the monitors closely1. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican, told PBS News that even one monitor in Kansas was overkill2.
CBS News reported that Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon described the effort as a record deployment3. PBS News said a senior official confirmed prosecutors would participate as monitors, a change from a long-held practice of keeping prosecutors off that duty, according to former department lawyer Stacey Young2. The official said personnel were instructed not to interfere with voting2.
Stateline cited Election Assistance Commission survey data putting the 2024 election at more than 95,000 polling places1. A complete public list of 2026 general-election sites had not been released in the reports reviewed1,2,3.
Sources
How it’s being reported
3 sourcesFirst reported by 
CBS News
Trump's DOJ sends 1,000 election monitors to 50 states; locations not yet disclosed
Scale, delayed location list, and named counties already notified
Spokesperson Kiersten Pels told States Newsroom about 1,000 monitors would deploy to all 50 states, with a full location list held until Election Day.
Leaves out 2024 monitor totals
How some states are responding to DOJ's plan to send 1,000 monitors on Election Day
Comparison with 2022, prosecutors as monitors, and state-official reactions
PBS said the Nov. 3 plan aims at 1,000 monitors in all 50 states and that a DOJ official put the 2022 midterm deployment at 388 people.
Leaves out A complete county-by-county list
CBS NewsFirstJustice Department to send a record 1,000 monitors to polling places in midterm elections
Dhillon's announcement and staffing questions inside the Civil Rights Division
CBS said Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon described a record 1,000-monitor plan and that a DOJ official put 2022 at 289 people and 2024 at 714.
Leaves out Named 2026 general-election counties beyond primary sites
Where they agree
- The department plans about 1,000 monitors for Nov. 3 in all 50 states
- Officials describe the role as observe-and-report, not running polls
- A complete national location list had not been published
Where they differ
2022 monitor count