Florida Blocks DOJ From Entering Florida Poll Stations, Citing Risk to Election Integrity
"The presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election," says Florida Sec. of State.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has banned Department of Justice (DOJ) officials from showing up uninvited at the state’s polling stations, claiming their presence risks undermining the election process.
The DOJ announced on Friday that it “plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 86 jurisdictions in 27 states for the Nov. 5 general election.”
“The Justice Department enforces federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all eligible citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country,” the agency said in a statement.
Justice Department to Monitor Polls in 27 States for Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws
— DOJ Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) November 1, 2024
Civil Rights Division Staff Available to Receive Nationwide Reports Throughout Election Day
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Four counties in Florida were included in the bulletin: Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Orange County and Osceola County.
But Florida Secretary of State Coyd Byrn rejected the DOJ’s plan, claiming their presence would “undermine confidence in the election.”
“As a reminder, DOJ monitors are not permitted inside a polling place under Florida law,” Byrn said in a letter to DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “Even if they could qualify as ‘law enforcement’ under section 102.031 (3)(a) of the Florida Statutes, absent some evidence concerning the need for federal intrusion, or some federal statute that preempts Florida law, the presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election.”
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— Florida Department of State (@FLSecofState) November 1, 2024
Byrd added that the Florida State Department already intended to “send its own monitors to the jurisdictions identified in your press release.”
“These monitors will ensure that there is no interference with the voting process,” he wrote.
Although Florida was once considered a pivotal swing state leading up to the 2016 election, the state has since become a Republican stronghold under Trump, with the former president now leading Kamala Harris in the Sunshine State by at 9 points, according to the latest polls.
Last month, the DOJ had announced its intention to deploy election monitors to Ohio “during the early voting period and on Election Day” after the Portage County sheriff posted a political message against Harris to his personal Facebook page.
Despite the DOJ’s stated goal of ensuring election integrity and the fact 8 in 10 Americans support voter ID laws and guardrails for mail-in voting, Attorney General Merrick Garland last March vowed to shut down voter ID and mail-in ballot restrictions, claiming that the “right to vote is under attack.”
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