By james art 
Texas officials have told the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that federal inspectors are not allowed inside the state’s polling stations.
Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State, released a letter on X addressed to Jasmine Richardson, Deputy Chief of the Voting Division of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, saying, “The Texas law is clear: The Department’s watchdogs of justice, a place where ballots are cast or a central counting station where ballots are counted shall not be admitted to voting.”
Secretary Nelson confirms in a letter to @TheJusticeDept that federal observers are not allowed at Texas polls under state law.
Texans can be confident in the state’s strong measures to ensure election integrity. pic.twitter.com/fwmobbe615
— Texas Secretary of State (@TXsecofstate) November 2, 2024
The announcement came after the DOJ said it would send election observers to 27 states, including eight Texas counties: Atascosa, Bexar, Dallas, Frio, Harris, Hays, Palo Pinto and Waller.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the DOJ can send federal observers to monitor the locations and locations where ballots are counted. However, following the Supreme Court Shelby decision, states have more control over voting rights within their jurisdiction.
Texas is not the first state to ban federal election observers. DOJ officials were barred from polling places in Missouri and Florida during the 2022 midterm elections, and in 2024, Arkansas officials told ABC news that DOJ election observers were also not welcome in their state.
However, the DOJ said it is sending observers to four counties in Florida and to St. Louis, Missouri.
The DOJ declined to comment for this story.
Also, although Nelson said state law prohibits the Justice Department from entering polling places, the Justice Department is indeed monitoring elections in three Texas counties — Dallas, Harris and Waller — in 2022, according to Texas Tribune.
The DOJ goes to both Republican-majority states and Democratic-majority states. For example, it sends election observers to eight counties in Massachusetts.
It is unclear why the DOJ would send federal monitors to the 86 jurisdictions on the list.
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
The Justice Department is involved in several 2024 election cases, ranging from suing the state of Virginia for removing people from its voter rolls too close to the election to Elon Musk’s warning that handing out cash “could violate federal law “.
Another state that will host election observers is Ohio, which the Justice Department announced on October 15. This monitoring will take place in Portage County during the early voting period and on Election Day.
Portage County voters raised concerns about intimidation. According to the DOJ, voters in the county are concerned about the surveillance and collection of their personal information. They are also worried about the threats surrounding the election process.
Portage County was in the news earlier this election cycle after its Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted and then deleted a message on his Facebook page about tracking down voters with Kamala Harris signs in their yard.
The Portage County Board of Elections said Newsweek: “The Portage County Election Commission is committed to providing free, fair and transparent elections. We welcome the Department of Justice to monitor our election process.” He added that the DOJ has not said why the county was selected for surveillance.
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