Roles and Rules for the Federal Election Monitor Programs

Elections are run by state and local officials, not by the federal government. Nonetheless, the federal government sometimes sends civilian observers to monitor the election process. The purpose of the federal election monitoring programs is to allow Congress and the Justice Department (DOJ) to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws and to inform potential future legislation and oversight.¹

It is illegal for anyone to intimidate voters or election workers, or to interfere in elections. That prohibition applies to monitors and observers sent by Congress or the DOJ. Historically, these monitors and observers have generally been non-intrusive. Although instances of malfeasance by congressional or DOJ monitors have been rare, administration officials may use the threat of large numbers of federal monitors to try to intimidate voters and election workers.

There are three types of observers from the federal government:

Congressional Observers. In 2024, Congress passed the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act to codify the process for appointing observers and the limitations on those observers. Congress had previously sent monitors under a claimed constitutional authority to oversee congressional elections. Under the new law, congressional observers are generally permitted to observe all stages of the election process, but may not interfere with the conduct of elections, including by touching equipment or handling ballots.

Federal Observers. The DOJ has a statutorily authorized observer program for closer monitoring of compliance with the Voting Rights Act, but those observers are only permitted when ordered by a court or agreed to in a lawsuit settlement. There are currently only three places in the country where DOJ observers are allowed: Union County, New Jersey; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.

Department of Justice Staff Monitors. The DOJ also sends watchers — usually attorneys and staff from the Civil Rights Division — to monitor compliance with the federal civil and voting rights laws and the Help America Vote Act. The department bases this program on its general investigatory and law enforcement authorities. In many states, DOJ monitors cannot enter a polling place without the express consent of state or local election officials. In states with flexible observer laws, the DOJ has historically coordinated its presence with state and local officials. Regardless of the state, DOJ monitors have no authority to interfere with any aspect of the voting process, and they are subject to state election observer laws. 

Below are details about the roles and guardrails for the federal election monitoring programs.

Congressional Observers

Congress has long sent observers pursuant to its asserted constitutional authority over federal elections, but in 2024, it enacted the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act, codifying and clarifying the rules governing its observer program.² The law states that it does not “establish any new authorities or procedures,” but instead exists as “a convenient statutory reference for existing congressional authority and activity.”³ Congressional leaders have said that congressional observers’ role is to watch elections to ensure they remain free and fair, and to report their observations back to Congress to inform future oversight and legislation.⁴

Appointment: Each party delegates to its members on the House Administration Committee and Senate Rules Committee the authority to appoint observers. Designees must be official congressional employees,⁵ undergo training before serving,⁶ and be exempt from state credentialing, quota, and location requirements.⁷ In the past, congressional observers have traditionally been appointed in bipartisan pairs.⁸

Permissible Activities: Under the 2024 statute, congressional observers must be given “full access to clearly observe all elements of election administration procedures,” including the areas where ballots are cast, processed, counted, or audited, both before and after the election.⁹ The statute also says observers may ask election officials and workers questions.¹⁰

Restricted Activities: Congressional observers may not handle ballots, touch election equipment, advocate for candidates or positions, jeopardize voter privacy, interfere with a voter’s ability to vote or an election worker’s duties, or otherwise interfere with the election.¹¹ Observers are prohibited from engaging in any partisan or political activity.¹²

Removal: State and local election officials may remove congressional observers engaging in intimidation or deceptive practices or disrupting voting or election administration.¹³ The congressional observer law asserts that the official must notify the appointing congressional committee and that the committee has the authority to send a replacement.¹⁴

Federal Observers

Under the Voting Rights Act, in narrow, circumscribed places, the DOJ can deploy federal observers who have statutory authority to enter polling places to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.¹⁵ However, the DOJ may only send observers when a jurisdiction agrees to it as part of a lawsuit settlement or when ordered to do so by a court as a remedy for a civil rights violation. As of 2026, the DOJ is only permitted to send observers to three places: Union County, New Jersey; Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.¹⁶

Appointment: The DOJ may send observers to a jurisdiction when ordered by a court or agreed to in a lawsuit settlement.¹⁷

Permissible Activities: Federal observers monitor procedures in polling places and at sites where ballots are counted to determine whether voters are subject to discrimination.¹⁸ Observers may report on what they saw and heard at an election site, such as the conduct of election officials and treatment of voters during voter registration, ballot distribution, ballot casting, and vote counting.¹⁹

Restricted Activities: Federal observers have no law enforcement power and are limited to observing and reporting. Even if violations of federal civil and voting rights laws occur, they cannot intervene, only report back for possible later DOJ action.²⁰

DOJ Staff Monitors

Separate from the federal observers, the DOJ has long assigned “staff monitors” to polling places on Election Day on its own initiative.²¹ There is no statutory authority that gives staff monitors special access to polling places akin to what congressional observers and federal observers are granted under the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act and the Voting Rights Act, respectively. As a result, staff monitors’ viewing activities are limited to what is permitted by state laws or the permissions given by state or local officials. State practices vary as to whether to give DOJ monitors full access to polling places or other election facilities.

Appointment: The DOJ is generally permitted to send monitors outside polling places in any jurisdiction. The authority to do so comes from general departmental authorities rather than a federal statute. Traditionally, the department has given advance notice to the jurisdictions where election monitors will be present.²²

Permissible activities: The purpose of staff monitors is to observe, document, and report on compliance with civil rights laws.²³ Because there is no specific grant of special privileges for monitors, in many states, monitors may only enter polling places with state or local officials’ permission; otherwise, they must observe outside. Some states grant all interested people broader access to observe elections. In those states, the DOJ has traditionally still coordinated monitor presence with state and local officials. Their role is to observe Election Day activities at polling places to ensure compliance with voting rights laws.²⁴

Restricted activities: Staff monitors have limits on the actions they can take. The DOJ has no authority to permit monitors to interfere with a voter’s ability to enter a polling place, order election judges to take any action, or interfere with the operations, administration, management, or activities of a polling place. Local officials have enforced these limitations.²⁵ Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the DOJ has agreed that staff monitors cannot enter polling places without a state’s consent,²⁶ are subject to state election laws,²⁷ and must openly identify themselves as monitors.²⁸ Federal law also prohibits monitors from participating in political activities or interfering with election results.²⁹

Removal: Because the DOJ has recognized that state and local laws apply to staff monitors, these monitors can be removed from election sites for violations of state and federal election laws, including federal laws prohibiting the intimidation of voters or election workers or interference in elections. 

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Federal and state law strictly prohibit all people, including anyone at a polling place to monitor or observe the election, from engaging in intimidation of voters and election workers. Any action that makes a voter feel intimidated, threatened, or coerced (including any effort to prevent a voter from registering to vote, voting, or voting for or against any candidate or ballot measure) could constitute voter intimidation, regardless of whether it breaks a specific rule.³⁰