USA04 August, 20263 min read
DOJ Monitors Polling Sites in Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing, and East Lansing for Michigan Primary
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Monitors deployed in four Michigan cities: Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing, East Lansing. Monitors aim to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.
DOJ monitors Michigan primaries
The U.S. Department of Justice said it is monitoring polling sites in four Michigan cities during Tuesday’s state primary election, with staff from its Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices for Michigan’s Eastern and Western districts watching locations in Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing and East Lansing.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement, "Our primary monitoring efforts continue today as we seek to ensure free and fair elections nationwide," and the DOJ said the initiative is intended to help ensure transparency, ballot security and compliance with federal voting rights laws.
The DOJ said it regularly deploys its staff to monitor compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections across the country, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.
In Detroit, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey confirmed four teams of federal election monitors were in the city and said she did not expect any issues, while the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony of the Detroit NAACP said, "We are observing the observers to make sure that your vote is secure and you are able to vote."
Local officials question intent
While the DOJ framed the monitoring as compliance-focused, local officials and lawmakers raised concerns about whether the program could be used for partisan aims, with Al Jazeera reporting warnings that the Trump administration could use monitors for partisan aims. In a statement reported by Democracy Docket, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said, "Michigan’s elections are transparent, accurate, accessible, and secure," and she added that the state welcomed observation "in compliance with the law".
Democracy Docket also quoted Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey saying, "What makes me suspicious is that you say things that you can’t back up," and she said there was no proof the DOJ had been at polling locations. In response to the DOJ’s July letter, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and City Clerk Chris Swope said, "claims in the letter to Lansing about difficult or abnormal voting practices are simply false," and they said there were no delays at polling locations and provisional ballots were always available as provided by law.
What happens next in Michigan
The DOJ said its monitoring assignments were implemented for the Aug. 4 primary and included Hamtramck, and the agency told Michigan officials it intended to place election monitors at some polling locations.
In Detroit, FOX 2 Detroit reported that all 157 polling locations were open and that Janice Winfrey said she expected between 25,000 and 40,000 voters to go to the polls in the city that day, with her office hopeful to reach 50,000 total.
ClickOnDetroit reported that federal election monitors observe polling place procedures and ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws, and it quoted the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony saying the NAACP would be "monitoring the monitors" and had "a team of lawyers" if misbehavior stopped people from voting or intimidated them.
Al Jazeera said 10 Democratic senators asked for assurances in a letter dated Monday that FBI monitors deployed across the country will not “target jurisdictions in a partisan manner; discourage voter participation or interfere with the voting process; or pressure, harass, or interfere with state and local election officials as they do their jobs” as Michigan voters cast ballots for party nominees ahead of the November midterm election.