Justice Department sends about 1,000 election monitors to 126 mostly Democratic-leaning jurisdictions

Deployment across all 50 states

The Justice Department sent roughly 1,000 election monitors to polling places in more than 120 jurisdictions across all 50 states for the midterm vote on 3 November 2026. The department described the effort as a record-setting push to ensure election integrity. CNN counted 126 counties and cities in its own analysis of the same list.

Department monitors are dispatched every Election Day, but the scale of this year's deployment prompted anxiety among Democrats, who fear federal interference with the vote or doubt about the results. President Donald Trump and his allies have accused Democrats of cheating and pushed for greater federal control over how voting is conducted, claims that federal courts have largely rejected.

Where the monitors went

The Washington Post analysis found that at least 89 of the selected jurisdictions voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in the three most recent presidential elections. At least 29 consistently voted Republican, and five swung between the parties at least once. CNN noted that the locations include large cities such as Detroit and Chicago, and counties such as Johnson County in Kansas and Harris County in Texas, which could be decisive in Senate contests.

Consistently voted Democratic89

Consistently voted Republican29

Swung between parties5

Consistently voted Democratic

89 jurisdictions

Consistently voted Republican

29 jurisdictions

Swung between parties

5 jurisdictions

Data from the article text

During the 2022 midterms, the Biden administration also sent Justice Department monitors to 24 states, with a similar share of Democratic-leaning jurisdictions, the Post found. Democratic administrations have typically focused monitoring on heavily Democratic areas such as large cities, citing concerns about disenfranchisement and language barriers.

Reports from polling places

State and local officials said the monitors largely behaved in line with past elections and did not try to interfere with or intimidate voters, although minor friction was reported. In heavily Democratic Bernalillo County, New Mexico, monitors asked voters "unusual questions," according to a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, and no similar behavior was reported afterwards. In Michigan, state officials said they contacted the Justice Department after reports from Dearborn, Flint and Lansing, where monitors asked poll workers for training materials and tried to speak with voters inside polling places, both of which breached agreements with local officials.

In Washington, D.C., the attorney general, Brian L. Schwalb, reminded voters that the presence of federal troops or law enforcement near polling sites is illegal. His office had contacted the administration about National Guard soldiers and federal agents seen near voting places in recent days. The Pentagon had said in August that it would not send troops or militarized police to polling sites on 3 November.

“Federal law prohibits the armed forces and federal law enforcement from interfering in elections.”

Trump's aid remarks

In the same Post report, Trump said the United States would end $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel at the end of this year, after earlier discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The 2016 memorandum of understanding signed under President Barack Obama, which provides at least $38 billion over 10 years and was due to expire at the end of 2028, will therefore end early, Trump said.