Florida

Florida Pushes Back Against Federal Election Monitors in Polling Places

The U.S. Justice Department said it was sending monitors to 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws

NBC Universal, Inc.

The Florida Department of State is pushing back against federal election monitors in the state's polling places.

The U.S. Justice Department said it was sending monitors to 24 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.

Included in the list of polling places the DOJ wanted to monitor were sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

But in a letter to the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, Brad McVay, general counsel for the Florida Department of State, said DOJ monitors wouldn't be allowed inside the state's polling places on Election Day under Florida law.

"Absent some evidence concerning the need for federal intrusion, or some federal statute that preempts Florida law, the presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election," McVay's letter read.

Joe Scott, Supervisor of Elections in Broward County, said DOJ monitors were aware of the letter and would not be entering the county's polling places.

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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