4 Counties Named for Federal Election Monitor Deployment

Federal election monitors will observe polling places in Allegheny, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Philadelphia counties on Election Day, Nov. 3. The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to state election officials last week confirming the deployment of these observers in the four specific Pennsylvania counties.

In the letter, James Catnia, an attorney for the DOJ civil rights division, stated that the monitors will only observe and take notes. He explained that they do not intrude or interfere in the voting process. The monitors will wear business-casual clothing rather than uniforms and will not wear identifying pins.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt addressed the deployment during a pre-election address on Tuesday. He said the state expects everyone observing polling places to follow all state and federal laws. Schmidt noted that current laws do not give monitors authority to police voters. He said, "DOJ monitors are not legally entitled to any greater access to polling places than any member of the public." He encouraged the monitors to coordinate with county election offices to avoid disrupting the voting process.

Schmidt also emphasized that state and federal laws strictly limit the presence of military and law enforcement at polling places. He asked voters to be patient with election workers, describing them as neighbors who offered their time so others could vote.

Civil rights groups have also weighed in on the federal presence. In a letter dated Oct. 20, the ACLU, its Pennsylvania chapter, and the Public Interest Law Center urged election officials in all 67 Pennsylvania counties to watch for potential meddling. The groups noted that while the monitoring program has existed for years, the Justice Department is expanding it this year. They warned that monitors under the new program could be poorly trained or lack a legal background.

The letter stated that participants in the monitoring program do not gain additional powers from federal authority. It reminded local officials that they run their own elections and are responsible for ensuring no one interferes with the right to vote. The groups listed prohibited behaviors, such as efforts to intimidate people from voting.

Gov. Josh Shapiro told WESA over the weekend that state leaders have spent more than a year preparing for various federal actions. He said he is deeply concerned about potential federal involvement but pledged to protect people's access to polling places. Three of the four counties named by the Justice Department, including Allegheny, also hosted federal monitors in 2024.