DOJ personnel to monitor elections in 5 Arizona counties

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Federal election monitors will be deployed to various poll locations in five Arizona counties starting Tuesday to monitor compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws, the Department of Justice announced on Monday.

Officials say that personnel from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will be deployed to Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai counties starting on Election Day Tuesday to watch for any voter intimidation and voter suppression. In all, the department says it will deploy personnel to 64 communities in 24 states.

“There have been a lot of reports across the country of outside groups, sometimes encouraged by political groups, candidates, or political leaders to interfere with the voting process. So having the Justice Department establish a presence sends a clear signal to those outside groups and administrators that the federal government is keeping an eye on this,” said Jonathan Diaz, senior legal counsel for voting rights at Campaign Legal Center.

GUIDE: How to report voting issues in Arizona

Department officials are encouraging voters to report disruption at a polling place immediately to local election officials (including those in the polling place). Those complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately by calling 911. Once local authorities have been made aware, voters are asked to report the incident to DOJ officials.

“Voter intimidation is illegal everywhere in the country,” said Diaz. “No matter what, voters are protected against harassment, intimidation, any type of threating behavior.”

Arizona has been in the national spotlight in recent years after the 2020 presidential election, followed by a controversial ballot audit ordered by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate. To date, elections officials around Arizona have repeatedly said there had been no signs of voter fraud in recent elections.

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DOJ Civil Rights Division monitor locations:

City of Bethel, Alaska;
Dillingham Census Area, Alaska;
Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska;
Sitka City-Borough, Alaska;
Maricopa County, Arizona;
Navajo County, Arizona;
Pima County, Arizona;
Pinal County, Arizona;
Yavapai County, Arizona;
Newton County, Arkansas;
Los Angeles County, California;
Sonoma County, California;
Broward County, Florida;
Miami-Dade County, Florida;
Palm Beach County, Florida;
Cobb County, Georgia;
Fulton County, Georgia;
Gwinnett County, Georgia;
Town of Clinton, Massachusetts;
City of Everett, Massachusetts;
City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts;
City of Leominster, Massachusetts;
City of Malden, Massachusetts;
City of Methuen, Massachusetts;
City of Randolph, Massachusetts;
City of Salem, Massachusetts;
Prince George’s County, Maryland;
City of Detroit, Michigan;
City of Flint, Michigan;
City of Grand Rapids, Michigan;
City of Pontiac, Michigan;
City of Southfield, Michigan;
City of Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Hennepin County, Minnesota;
Ramsey County, Minnesota;
Cole County, Missouri;
Alamance County, North Carolina;
Columbus County, North Carolina;
Harnett County, North Carolina;
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina;
Wayne County, North Carolina;
Middlesex County, New Jersey;
Bernalillo County, New Mexico;
San Juan County, New Mexico;
Clark County, Nevada;
Washoe County, Nevada;
Queens County, New York;
Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
Berks County, Pennsylvania;
Centre County, Pennsylvania;
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania;
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania;
City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island;
Horry County, South Carolina;
Dallas County, Texas;
Harris County, Texas;
Waller County, Texas;
San Juan County, Utah;
City of Manassas, Virginia;
City of Manassas Park, Virginia;
Prince William County, Virginia;
City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and,
City of Racine, Wisconsin.

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