The Justice Department plans to send about 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states for the Nov. 3 midterms, expanding a long-running federal program, NJ.com, the Idaho Capital Sun and States Newsroom outlets reported^1,2,3.

Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said monitors “observe for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the Department”^1,3.

NJ.com reported that Union County, N.J., already has federal observers inside polling places and counting rooms under a 2023 court order tied to Spanish-language access, one of three such sites nationwide, while other monitors must remain outside¹.

Nicole L. DiRado of the Union County Board of Elections said the arrangement has been in place since 2023 and that observers cannot intervene¹.

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said the department notified him of two teams in Ada County; Clerk Trent Tripple said about six local monitors would stand near, not inside, polling places².

Pels told the Idaho Capital Sun the work is “the routine election monitoring the department has done for decades”².

States Newsroom reported that Biden-era monitors in 2022 covered 64 jurisdictions in 24 states, and that the department said it would not publish a full 2026 site list until Election Day^3,4.

Some voting-rights groups said a larger federal presence could intimidate voters; election lawyers cited by States Newsroom said 1,000 monitors are few compared with tens of thousands of polling places^1,3.

NJ.com said a recent Justice Department court filing stated FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees would not serve as monitors and that monitors would not carry guns or speak with voters before they vote¹.

Where the new New Jersey monitors will be posted besides the existing Union County observers has not been disclosed¹.