The U.S. Department of Justice sent election monitors to Manchester and Nashua on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as part of a nationwide deployment the department called its largest ever.

Approximately 1,000 monitors and observers fanned out across all 50 states, according to a DOJ statement. It was the first time the department monitored elections in every state. The effort was coordinated by the DOJ's Civil Rights Division.

No monitors were listed for Sullivan County or other New Hampshire communities outside Manchester and Nashua.

"Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in the statement.

The DOJ has sent election monitors to polling places since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, according to the department. During the Biden administration, the DOJ sent monitors to 64 jurisdictions across 24 states for the 2022 midterm elections, as first reported by the New Hampshire Bulletin.

The 2026 program is far larger. Monitors include personnel from the Civil Rights Division, other DOJ components, U.S. Attorney's Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, the department said.

Concerns about voter intimidation

The scale of the deployment drew pushback from voting rights groups and some local election officials. The NAACP said in a court filing that the deployment could have a chilling effect on voters.

"The law is clear — law enforcement agents can have an intimidating effect on voters, especially Black voters, and they have no role and no right to be inside our polling places," Kristen Clarke, NAACP general counsel, said in a statement, as reported by the New Hampshire Bulletin.

The NAACP sued the Justice Department in early October for records about the monitoring program. A federal judge denied the group's request for an emergency order directing the DOJ to produce records immediately, though the underlying lawsuit remains pending, the Bulletin reported.

The Justice Department said in a court document that monitors are not allowed to carry firearms, must dress in business casual clothing and have been instructed not to interfere with voting, the Bulletin reported.

DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels said all monitors must meet the same legal and ethical requirements, which includes not interfering in the voting process. Pels said monitors would observe for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the department for review after Election Day.

Scale in context

Election experts noted the 1,000 monitors would be spread thin. The 2024 election included more than 95,000 polling places nationwide, according to U.S. Election Assistance Commission survey data cited by the Bulletin.

Andrew Walchuk, senior policy director and counsel for voting and fair representation at Common Cause, said monitors themselves are nothing new. "But with this administration, we will be watching their activity very closely," Walchuk said.

New Hampshire voters with questions or complaints about federal voting rights can call the DOJ's election issues hotline at 1-800-253-3931 or email [email protected].