Texas reaches election day agreement with DOJ over federal poll monitors – JURIST

Following 11^th-hour efforts to prevent federal observers from monitoring Texas polling stations, the state reached an agreement Tuesday with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), permitting its monitors to conduct their work, albeit subject to strict limitations.

Earlier this month, the DOJ announced plans to monitor polling stations in 27 states as voters cast their ballots in a historically divisive presidential election. Though this is standard practice given the agency’s mandate to enforce voting rights laws, it spurred complaints from several Republican-governed states this week amid mounting fears of election interference.

On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a federal complaint seeking to block DOJ monitors from entering polling locations in eight Texas counties. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argued that federal authorities had no legal right to monitor voting locations under Texas law, which strictly limits who can be present at polling places.

Under the election-morning agreement, DOJ monitors will remain outside polling locations and central counting stations while respecting Texas laws regarding electioneering within 100 feet of voting sites. The agreement aims to preserve voters’ right to speak with DOJ personnel should they choose to voice concerns or lodge complaints.

While the DOJ cited its authority to enforce federal voting rights laws, including the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Texas argued that federal monitors didn’t qualify under any of the state’s legally permitted categories of poll watchers and that the DOJ failed to cite specific authority for entering polling locations.

Other states that have challenged the DOJ observation mandate include Missouri and Florida.