DOJ Plans 1,000 Election Monitors Nov. 3; Ohio Law Limits Their Access

County election directors across Ohio say they are prepared for possible federal monitoring visits as Election Day approaches. The Department of Justice said it will deploy 1,000 election monitors nationwide on Nov. 3. The Statehouse News Bureau previously reported the DOJ emailed officials in Franklin, Medina and Cuyahoga counties that its Civil Rights Division intends to send monitors to those jurisdictions.

Election law professor Bill Rich of Ohio Wesleyan University has advised those counties to decline the visits. "Ohio severely limits who can be present in a voting location. And that limitation doesn't allow for DOJ monitors and these monitors don't have any statutory authority to preempt state law," Rich said. He said county boards of election directors may still choose to admit a DOJ monitor. Cuyahoga County has allowed such observers in past years, where they wore plain clothes, watched election activities, documented potential federal voting law violations, and raised concerns with officials.

Access rules vary by county. In Franklin County, DOJ monitors cannot enter polling locations but may stand 100 feet from an entrance and speak to voters after they leave. The Brennan Center for Justice, a democracy-focused research organization, reports Ohio limits polling-place observers to registered voters of the state. Those observers must apply through the county board of elections before watching poll proceedings, ballot counting, and certification of returns. Observers who spot an issue contact a county election official outside the voting area.

Ohio's county boards of elections operate under state law governing who may observe voting activities. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division monitors federal voting statutes. Rich said state law on observer access does not permit federal monitors inside polling locations. County election directors retain discretion over whether to admit them.

Federal monitoring for the November election is scheduled for Nov. 3. The DOJ has not released a list of the jurisdictions where its monitors will be assigned beyond the three Ohio counties notified by email. Ohio's county boards of elections have not announced decisions on whether to allow federal observers into polling locations.