Judge Walton Lets DOJ Poll Monitors Work Election Day but Orders Them Unarmed, Out of Uniform and Without Arrest Powers
A Bush-appointed federal judge denied the NAACP's request to stop the Justice Department from sending monitors to polling places, then ordered the department to hold to its own promises. A status report was due at 7 a.m. Eastern Tuesday.
A federal judge refused to ground the Justice Department's Election Day poll monitors, but set strict rules for them, Fox News reports.
The ruling. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who was nominated to the D.C. court by President George W. Bush, issued his order Monday night. He denied the NAACP's request for a temporary restraining order, without prejudice, finding the record did not show the group was likely to win. He then ordered the department to carry out what its own lawyers had told him in court.
The rules. The monitors must be administrative or clerical employees, not sworn law enforcement officers. They must be unarmed, out of uniform, and may not display insignia showing they work for a federal agency. They cannot make arrests. They may not interfere with voters or election officials, must follow state and local rules, and may not speak with voters inside polling places. They may speak with voters outside only after the voter has cast a ballot. Each must introduce themselves to election officials and carry federal credentials in case asked to verify their job.
The reasoning. The NAACP had argued that agents from agencies such as the ATF, the DEA and the Bureau of Prisons could intimidate voters and violate the Voting Rights Act. Walton wrote that a person simply "projecting a commanding presence" or scanning crowds, without outward signs of police authority, would not put the average voter in reasonable fear of harassment. He said the department's statements about voter fraud and election integrity did not change that.
The deadline. Walton ordered the department to file a status report by 7 a.m. Eastern Tuesday explaining how it confirmed that no monitor has arrest powers. The order covers the monitoring program for Election Day, Nov. 3.
The dispute behind it. Fox says the ruling followed allegations that the department planned to send more than 1,000 people, including law enforcement agents and investigators, to polling sites. The department's attorneys told the court sworn agents and officers would be excluded.
What we could not check. We have not seen the order or the 7 a.m. status report, and Fox does not say what the report contained. We cannot confirm how many monitors are working or where.