In a huge move to secure election integrity, the Trump DOJ is sending in election monitors to multiple states to oversee upcoming primary elections.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon just announced that these federal election monitors will be dispatched in 15 jurisdictions across 6 states.
Those states are: Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia.
AAG Dhillon posted a video announcement on X:
We @TheJusticeDept are proud to safeguard every American’s right to vote — and we will continue routine, nonpartisan election monitoring that’s been standard under both Republican & Democrat administrations for decades.
We enforce the law equally. Stay tuned for more! pic.twitter.com/OjSkct9LDU— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 7, 2026
For those who prefer to read, here’s a transcript of what she had to say:
In 2026, in this upcoming primary season, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, as it has done for decades, is this year sending election monitors into 15 different jurisdictions in six states. And those states are Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia.
And we’re sending the monitors into cities and counties where there may have been some problems in the recent elections. And so this is something that DOJ does routinely.
So, for example, in 2022, in the primary season, there were nine jurisdictions in which the prior administration sent election monitors during the primaries. In 2024, similarly, there were, in that election, 27 different jurisdictions monitored by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
So this year, we’re kind of in the middle of that with our 15. And what we hope to do here is increase voter confidence, make sure there are no language barriers or barriers to voting for Americans with disabilities, or, you know, sort of failure to make sure that the polling places are open correctly for the amount of time necessary, and that everyone has appropriate access to vote who should be allowed to vote.
So this is an important goal that increases voter confidence.
Exercise of our oversight duty and our enforcement duty to enforce the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Voting Rights Act, a very important statute, and other civil rights statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
So I’m proud to be helping organize this effort and send those monitors to help increase all citizens’ confidence in the outcome of our elections.
And stay tuned as we get towards the general election, where there’ll be an even more expanded program for vote monitors, as DOJ has done for decades in our great nation.
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This is absolutely essential — especially in states like Arizona, where voter fraud runs rampant.
Democracy Docket named multiple specific cities where these election monitors will be dispatched:
In her Wednesday comments, Dhillon added further detail, identifying many of the jurisdictions to receive monitoring. She named Boston, Maricopa County, Fairfax County, Detroit, Ramsey County, Prince William County, Lansing, East Lansing, Hennepin County, New Bedford, Nashua, Manchester, Apache County and Pima County.
In a separate interview, Dhillon also included Hamtramck, Michigan.
That list includes key Democratic strongholds like Phoenix, Tucson, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, all of which have large minority populations.
Dhillon’s announcement comes just days after it was reported that the DOJ is sending election monitors to three blue cities in Michigan.
CBS News provided the full scoop on that:
The U.S. Department of Justice intends to place federal election monitors in East Lansing, Detroit and Lansing during the August 2026 primary election, Michigan officials said.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel, the three municipalities received letters from the DOJ in late June requesting documents from each city on what the two officials say is “predicated on baseless accusations,” and informing the cities of the department’s intention to place election monitors at various polling locations in August.
Benson says she welcomes “anyone who wants to — in compliance with the law — observe Michigan’s elections process.”
“When they do, they will see what we already know to be true — Michigan’s professional local clerks are committed to ensuring our elections are safe, accessible, and fair,” Benson said.
In a letter sent to Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope on June 23 and obtained by CBS News Detroit, Timothy Mellett, deputy chief of the DOJ’s Voting Section, stated the department’s intention to deploy election monitors in August.
ADVERTISEMENT“As part of our assessment of your administration of the federal primary election, we plan to have election monitors at your 2026 primary election. We will contact you a week prior to the election monitoring to discuss the particulars of the monitoring effort,” wrote Mellett.”
In the letter, Mellett claims the DOJ was notified that during the Nov. 5, 2024, general election, some voters weren’t offered a provisional ballot for federal offices, as mandated by the Help America Vote Act.
“That lack of access to the official voter registration list and incorrect administration of HAVA’s requirements may have contributed to long lines and lengthy waiting periods at some voting locations,” Mellett wrote.
AAG Dhillon discussed the DOJ’s move further in an interview with Joe Pags, which you can watch right here:
In past administrations, Republican and Democrat, @theJusticeDept monitored elections to protect election integrity. This @CivilRights Division is sending monitors to 15 jurisdictions to ensure voter confidence in the upcoming primary elections! pic.twitter.com/CEQ1lSYXYK
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 8, 2026
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