The U.S. Department of Justice will send election monitors to Fresno County polling sites during California’s upcoming special election in an effort to “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law,” the department announced Friday.
Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus told The Fresno Bee that his office has had no communication with the DOJ regarding exactly how or why its agents will monitor the election.
Election observation is not an uncommon practice in Fresno, and the county welcomes anyone who wishes to observe the process, Kus said.
There were multiple observers from local and state organizations in polling locations for Fresno County’s early in-person voting on Saturday and Sunday, Kus said, but he does not believe anyone from the DOJ was present.
“There are rules about observation, and it really is observation,” Kus said. “You cannot interfere with the process, but we work to our very best ability for any observer, whether it be from an organization or just a citizen interested in seeing what’s going on, to take a look at it and see that process.”
Fresno is one of five counties in the state where federal personnel from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will be sent. Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside are the others.
“The Department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities across the country,” the DOJ said in its announcement.
It has been eight years since the DOJ conducted election observations in Fresno County.
A request for monitors ahead of the Nov. 4 election came from the California Republican Party, the Associated Press reported, where voters will decide whether to approve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to redraw the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats.
Gov. Newsom’s press office opposed the decision on social media shortly after the announcement Friday.
“Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote,” Newsom’s press office said on social media.
“If they (observers) take a picture or anything like that, we’ll kick them out because that’s intimidation under California law, and we’re going to treat every observer the same way,” Kus said.
There will be no agents in uniform at any vote center, Kus said, as that is against federal and state law, unless it is an officer actively voting. Observers will be regular people, who might be as dressed up as wearing a suit. They will be required to provide ID and give notice to staff that they are present, Kus said.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Fresno Bee.
There will not be any changes in the voting process or the way Fresno County handles elections with DOJ election monitors present, Kus said.
“We do everything by the law and in a fashion where any observer can see that process and understand it,” Kus said. “And so as far as we’re concerned, the US Department of Justice is just another group coming in to see how we do things right.”
There are a few different options for voting in Fresno County.
“You should not consider that maybe having an observer at a vote center should stop you in any way,” Kus said.
Vote by mail has been available for the past three weeks and will continue through Election Day. Additionally, over 60 drop boxes are spread through the county with daily pickup.
“We are here, ready and able to welcome any observer, including the US Department of Justice,” Kus said.