Justice Department Will Monitor Polls in 28 States

More than 500 people will monitor 67 jurisdictions in 28 states
By Daniel Kay,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2016 4:16 PM CST
Justice Department Will Monitor Polls in 28 States
"I Voted" stickers sit for voters upon dropping off their absentee ballot at the elections office inside the Plato Building in St. Paul, Minn.    (Liam James Doyle/The Minnesota Daily via AP)

The US Justice Department will be deploying election monitors and observers in 28 states to help things run smoothly and look for any disruptions or signs discrimination when Americans go to the polls on Tuesday, NPR reports. Around 500 observers will be deployed, which is actually less than were used in 2012; the Supreme Court's 2013 decision to strike down parts of the Voting Rights Act reduced the Justice Department's authority to conduct oversight operations, the New York Times reports.

The observers will be in an important position, especially as Donald Trump continues to repeat his dogged accusation that the election will be rigged. Trump has encouraged his supporters to conduct independent monitoring, the New York Times reported last month, a plan that some Democrats say is a "thinly veiled" attempt at voter intimidation. Despite all these efforts to ensure a fair election, a recent poll found that just 43% of voters feel there's a high probability their vote will be properly counted, while 17% have little confidence their vote will be counted accurately. (More Election 2016 stories.)

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