DOJ election monitors ask ‘unusual questions’ and give voters ‘intimidating’ looks at polling sites

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the midterm elections are under threat from widespread voter fraud.

Amid Trump's claims, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has deployed an unprecedented 1,000 monitors and observers across all 50 states to ensure compliance with federal voting laws during the November 3 midterm elections.

However, reports suggest that some election monitors may have overstepped their roles, with voters alleging that monitors asked them unusual questions and gave them “intimidating looks” at polling stations.

DOJ election monitors face voter complaints across states

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver claimed on Tuesday, November 3, that DOJ monitors had been "questioning voters" in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, PBS reported.

A Justice Department spokesperson subsequently told NewsHour that their “team had a productive call with the New Mexico Secretary of State just a few minutes ago,” adding that they “believe the issue is resolved and will not affect our ongoing monitoring for the rest of the day.”

Similar concerns were reported in Michigan.

According to a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, at least two incidents in Dearborn and Flint involved DOJ election monitors allegedly exceeding their authority.

The monitors reportedly asked election workers to provide copies of their training materials and details about the training they had personally received.

However, DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels told VoteBeat that the monitors had only asked “their typical questions about election official training.”

“These are standard questions on the forms we provided our monitors. They are the same questions asked by monitors in the past, including during the previous administration,” Pels said.

Several other complaints emerged from Austin, Texas, where a voter told The Telegraph that he had filed a complaint after a poll watcher gave him an "intimidating look" as he went to cast his ballot.

Rudy Martinez, 66, said a woman "made a look" as he went to vote for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate, in Austin's East Cesar Chavez neighbourhood.

"She was sitting right as you walked in," the retail worker said. "She was the only person I saw that made a look like that. You know the way I took it? I took it as 'That's a Mexican coming in here.'"

Poll watchers deny intimidating voters during midterms

When asked about the alleged behaviour, the poll watcher denied intimidating anyone and said she was there to ensure that voting went smoothly.

The woman, who requested anonymity but identified herself as a local volunteer rather than a federal monitor, said voters' anxieties were unsurprising given that "public officials, including the president, made statements with the purpose of trying to undermine folks' confidence in the election".

In addition to complaints about election monitors' behaviour, election officials reported a range of routine glitches at polling places across the country.

Local and state officials described the incidents as typical Election Day disruptions rather than serious irregularities. These included malfunctioning ballot scanners, power outages and false fire alarms.

Some of the earliest problems were reported in Westchester County, New York, just north of New York City.

State election officials said voting continued despite a technical glitch that prevented some scanning machines from accepting ballots.

Officials warned that some ballots might have to be counted manually.

Although the technical problems caused concern among some voters, minor voting-machine glitches are not unusual during elections and are generally resolved without major disruption.