Detroit, Michigan: Justice Department to Send Election Monitors to Detroit and Six Other Michigan Cities

The U.S. Department of Justice will send election monitors to polling places in Detroit and six other Michigan cities on Election Day, state officials announced on October 22, less than two weeks before voters pick a new governor and a new U.S. senator in the November 3 midterm election.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sent notices to seven municipalities, the Michigan Attorney General's office said. The letters went to Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Hamtramck, Lansing and Warren.

What the monitors can and cannot do

Justice Department monitors are typically federal attorneys and other department staff, the Attorney General's office said. Their presence at a polling place is akin to any other member of the public who observes an election as a poll watcher, because federal law does not expressly provide for monitors, the office said.

Like any poll watcher, the monitors cannot speak with voters, touch election equipment or ballots, or interfere with the administration of the election, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said.

In an October 21 email to the East Lansing clerk, James Catania, a lawyer with the Justice Department, wrote that the monitors only observe, the Lansing State Journal reported. "They do not intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process," Catania wrote. He said the monitors would be working to ensure federal voting rights laws are followed, including the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.

Federal monitors have been present in Michigan for several past federal elections, including 2024, and state officials said monitors were also present during this year's August primary, when the Justice Department sent monitors to Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing for the August 4 primary.

What Michigan leaders said

"The law provides specific parameters that allow monitors, observers and challengers to witness elections at local polling places," Nessel said. "It's important for residents to know that DOJ monitors are a standard part of our election process, and we anticipate they will comport with state and federal law just as they did in this year's August Primary. But make no mistake, my office stands ready to hold accountable those who attempt to unlawfully interfere with or intimidate Michigan voters or election workers, regardless of who they may be."

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Michigan elections are safe and secure. "The presence of federal election monitors is an expected part of the process, as it has been for years," Whitmer said.

Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie said Michigan has hosted federal monitors in past elections and clerks are well prepared. "State and local election officials have been in regular contact with DOJ about their plans for this election," Edevbie said. "As always, we will follow the law, and we expect all monitors, observers, and challengers to do the same."

The Lansing State Journal reported the monitors have received more attention this year after President Donald Trump advanced unproven claims about widespread voting fraud in Michigan and elsewhere, and suggested in February that federal officials might take over local election administration, something opponents said would violate the law.

Michigan voters can visit mi.gov/vote to view a sample ballot, learn about election security, and find their early voting or Election Day polling location, the Attorney General's office said.