Florida Tells Department of Justice 'Election Monitors' to Take a Hike

The General Counsel for the Florida Department of State has told the Department of Justice that not only are its “election monitors” not needed in Florida but they are banned by Florida law from hanging out in polling places.

Monday, the “Civil Rights Division” of the Justice Department announced that it was, by golly, sending out the Schutzstaffel to “monitor” elections in 64 cities or counties in 24 states. While in the polling places, the monitors were to “take complaints from the public.”

Justice Department to Monitor Polls in 24 States for Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws

The Justice Department announced today its plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 64 jurisdictions in 24 states for the Nov. 8, 2022 general election. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country to protect the rights of voters. The Civil Rights Division will also take complaints from the public nationwide regarding possible violations of the federal voting rights laws through its call center. The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot.

For the general election, the Civil Rights Division will monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws on Election Day and/or in early voting in 64 jurisdictions:

City of Bethel, Alaska;

Dillingham Census Area, Alaska;

Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska;

Sitka City-Borough, Alaska;

Maricopa County, Arizona;

Navajo County, Arizona;

Pima County, Arizona;

Pinal County, Arizona;

Yavapai County, Arizona;

Newton County, Arkansas;

Los Angeles County, California;

Sonoma County, California;

Broward County, Florida;

Miami-Dade County, Florida;

Palm Beach County, Florida;

Cobb County, Georgia;

Fulton County, Georgia;

Gwinnett County, Georgia;

Town of Clinton, Massachusetts;

City of Everett, Massachusetts;

City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts;

City of Leominster, Massachusetts;

City of Malden, Massachusetts;

City of Methuen, Massachusetts;

City of Randolph, Massachusetts;

City of Salem, Massachusetts;

Prince George’s County, Maryland;

City of Detroit, Michigan;

City of Flint, Michigan;

City of Grand Rapids, Michigan;

City of Pontiac, Michigan;

City of Southfield, Michigan;

City of Minneapolis, Minnesota;

Hennepin County, Minnesota;

Ramsey County, Minnesota;

Cole County, Missouri;

Alamance County, North Carolina;

Columbus County, North Carolina;

Harnett County, North Carolina;

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina;

Wayne County, North Carolina;

Middlesex County, New Jersey;

Bernalillo County, New Mexico;

San Juan County, New Mexico;

Clark County, Nevada;

Washoe County, Nevada;

Queens County, New York;

Cuyahoga County, Ohio;

Berks County, Pennsylvania;

Centre County, Pennsylvania;

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania;

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania;

City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island;

Horry County, South Carolina;

Dallas County, Texas;

Harris County, Texas;

Waller County, Texas;

San Juan County, Utah;

City of Manassas, Virginia;

City of Manassas Park, Virginia;

Prince William County, Virginia;

City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and,

City of Racine, Wisconsin.

Monitors will include personnel from the Civil Rights Division and from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. In addition, the division also deploys monitors from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order. Division personnel will also maintain contact with state and local election officials.

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Acts. The division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure that persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote. The division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.

On Election Day, Civil Rights Division personnel will be available all day to receive complaints from the public related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws by a complaint form on the department’s website https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by telephone toll-free at 800-253-3931.

Individuals with questions or complaints related to the ADA may call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or submit a complaint through a link on the department’s ADA website, at https://www.ada.gov/.

Complaints related to disruption at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local election officials (including officials in the polling place). Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. These complaints should also be reported to the department after local authorities have been contacted.

The Justice Department recently announced its overall plans for the general election to protect the right to vote and secure the integrity of the voting process through the work of the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, National Security Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

More information about the federal civil rights laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at https://www.justice.gov/crt.

This is how the court stenographers from the Washington Post reported the DOJ spin.

The Justice Department announced that it will dispatch workers to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states on Election Day to ensure that they are in compliance with federal voting law, an increase from the 44 jurisdictions to which it sent monitors for the 2020 presidential election.
…
The list of jurisdictions where the Justice Department will dispatch monitors provides a window into where federal law enforcement officials suspect there could be disputes or tensions around the voting process.

Among the places that will be monitored Tuesday but did not receive federal monitors on Election Day 2020: Clark County, Nev., and Pinal County, Ariz. Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, was home to contentious election disputes after the 2020 election, and Pinal County experienced problems during its August primary election.

Florida was having none of it.

Florida Secretary of State Letter by streiff at redstate on Scribd

The letter is absolutely correct. Unless there is cause to expect that misconduct is taking place or a court order directing such activity at a polling place, having DOJ drones, who, as the letter points out, are not law enforcement, hanging out and asking voters questions gives rise to a perception that malfeasance or misconduct is taking place. Just because DOJ has done this for years doesn’t mean they have the authority to do so.

Missouri’s Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft joined Florida in banning Garland’s brown shirts from polling places.

Separately, Missouri officials said Monday that they would not allow the Justice Department to conduct routine inspections under the Americans With Disabilities Act and Voting Rights Act at polling places on Election Day.

Missouri Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft (R) told The Washington Post that the Justice Department’s presence amounted to a bid to “bully a local election authority” and could “intimidate and suppress the vote.”

Ashcroft and Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer (R) told federal officials that they would not be permitted to observe polling places Tuesday.

“This is not the Voting Rights Act. This is the Americans With Disabilities Act. What’s next? They’re going to want to be at elections because they want to check that insulation in the building was purchased from China in the 1970s? Give me a break,” Ashcroft said in a phone interview.

He compared Justice Department officials from the U.S. attorney’s office from the Western District of Missouri to “jackbooted thugs,” and individuals in Arizona who have been seen patrolling ballot drop boxes with firearms.

There is no legitimate reason for the Department of Justice to have any physical presence at any polling place unless there is evidence that voters will not be allowed to vote or that those votes will be manipulated. The only reason they get away with this nonsense is that state officials either go along with it because it suits their agenda or they are too cowed by the DOJ letterhead to do their job.