DALLAS — The Department of Justice agreed that election monitors will not enter Texas polling and central count locations on Election Day after Ken Paxton sued to prevent federal officials from monitoring Texas polling locations, according to an agreement filed Nov. 4, the day before Election Day.
The Department of Justice announced last week it would deploy election monitors in 86 jurisdictions across 27 states on Election Day, according to the Associated Press. Election monitors are not law enforcement officers or federal agents and they are tasked with ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws.
Three Republican-led states – Texas, Florida and Missouri – sued to block the Justice Department's election monitors from going inside polling places on Election Day, the Associated Press reported.
According to the agreement, monitors will have to remain outside the polling locations and central count locations and "consistent with its longstanding practice, monitors will not interfere with voters attempting to vote," the agreement states.
Voters may speak with DOJ personnel if they choose within the parameters of the Texas Election Code, the release states. Federal personnel will also be subject to restrictions on electioneering, loitering, or using a cell phone within 100 feet of the polling location, the filing states.
“Texans run Texas elections, and we will not be bullied by the Department of Justice,” Attorney General Paxton said in a press release. “The DOJ knows it has no authority to monitor Texas elections and backed down when Texas stood up for the rule of law."
The day before Election Day, Paxton announced an "Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team" will be deployed to some major Texas counties.
The team will "enforce Texas election laws and take immediate action on any contingencies, including issues seen in previous cycles such as ballot shortages, extended polling location closures and improper extension of voting hours," the Attorney General's Office said in a release.
Voters can report any suspected violations of the Texas Election Code by emailing illegalvoting@oag.texas.gov.
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