Fresno will deploy poll observers in Prop. 50 election on top of federal monitors

The City of Fresno will deploy election observers to all city polling sites during Tuesday’s special election to decide Prop. 50, on top of federal and state monitors, city officials announced Thursday.

The decision comes less than a week after the U.S. Department of Justice said it will send monitors to polling sites in five California counties — including Fresno — in the Nov. 4 election. The sole question on the ballot is Prop. 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to temporarily redraw the state’s map of congressional districts to favor Democratic candidates in response to a similar gerrymandering effort in Texas favoring Republicans.

Councilmember Nelson Esparza said the city’s decision to send its own observers is in response to community concerns following the DOJ’s announcement.

“Not to say that federal poll watchers are unprecedented, but it’s not a very common occurrence,” Esparza said. “I think in this national environment, that announcement by the federal government has created a confusion and created anxiety. So we, as a city, are saying we will be there, ensuring to our ability that everyone has an easy time voting.”

City observers will be personnel from the City Attorney’s Office. Staff will be present to ensure there is no voter interference and that all votes are counted, City Attorney Andrew Janz said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta indicated earlier this week that he will also send election monitors to Fresno, meaning federal, state and city observers will be at the polls on Tuesday. Newsom called the Trump administration’s decision to send election monitors an “intimidation tactic” meant to suppress support for Prop. 50.

“We’re all watching to ensure we preserve constitutional rights,” Council President Mike Karbassi said.

Monitors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will be sent to Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties on Election Day.

“The Department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities across the country,” the Department of Justice said in its announcement last Friday.

It has been eight years since the DOJ conducted election observations in Fresno County. A request for federal monitors ahead of the Nov. 4 election came from the California Republican Party, the Associated Press reported.

City officials said the decision to add local monitors was not a partisan effort, but an effort to ensure transparency.

There will not be any changes in the voting process or the way Fresno County handles elections with DOJ election monitors present, Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus told The Bee.

“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 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.”