Federal election monitors arrived at Miami-Dade County polling places on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The U.S. Department of Justice deployed approximately 1,000 monitors and observers to all 50 states, a first in the agency's history. In Florida, the monitored counties are Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Leon, according to the DOJ's statement.

Miami-Dade is the state's largest county, and Broward and Palm Beach are also on the list.

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division coordinated the deployment. Monitors include division personnel, staff from other DOJ components, U.S. Attorney's Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management. They are checking compliance with federal voting rights laws, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in the DOJ statement that the department was deploying its largest monitoring effort in history and pursuing election transparency in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner.

Garcia: monitors 'watch from afar'

Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia told WSVN in an Oct. 30 report that the DOJ had notified the county it would be sending monitors.

"What they come to ensure is that we are using Spanish and English, because that's part of federal law, and that there is no discrimination, that kind of thing, but they watch from afar," Garcia said. "They already informed us that this is one of the counties they're coming to but, probably, people will not even see that they're there."

Federal monitors observe from outside polling sites. They carry proper identification and are not allowed to enter, according to WSVN.

Garcia also said the DOJ had warned officials across the country about people posing as federal monitors. "We did receive a report that, in other places, people had been pretending to be DOJ and they would never do that," she said. Poll workers in Miami-Dade underwent training to spot impostors. As of Oct. 30, no impostor incidents had been reported in Miami-Dade or Broward, according to WSVN.

Voting rights groups raise concerns

The deployment drew criticism from some voting rights organizations. The NAACP and other groups said they believe the monitors could suppress turnout and disenfranchise voters, particularly from minority communities, USA Today reported.

Axios reported the effort comes after courts repeatedly rejected DOJ attempts to force states to restrict voting for alleged noncitizens. The DOJ monitored 86 jurisdictions across 27 states in the 2024 presidential election, the most since 2004, according to Axios.

How to report problems

Voters with questions or complaints about federal voting rights can call 1-800-253-3931 or email [email protected]. Disruptions at a polling place should be reported to local election officials. Threats of violence or intimidation should go to local police at 911.