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DOJ Sends Election Monitors to Four Pennsylvania Counties

By Drooid · Oct 27, 2026, 2:53 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

DOJ Sends Monitors

The U.S. Department of Justice will send federal election monitors to four Pennsylvania counties for the November 3 election.
Monitors will serve Philadelphia, Allegheny, Luzerne and Lehigh counties.
They will observe polling places and take notes, without uniforms or identification pins.
Monitors must follow state rules and voting laws, including the Voting Rights Act and ADA.
County officials may eject any monitor who breaks rules, though none have been removed historically.

Summary

RNC Mobilizes Volunteers

Democratic parties and coalitions have trained roughly 10,000 volunteers to observe polling places nationwide.
The Republican National Committee has organized 22,000 volunteers to staff polling locations.
Common Cause has prepared about 16,000 volunteers for election protection.
The Democratic National Committee’s Association of State Democratic Committees created a cybersecurity unit staffed by CIA and FBI officials.
The Justice Department has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska that could affect ballot counting.

History

Historical Context

The 2000 Florida recount, sparked by a 537-vote margin and halted by the Supreme Court’s Bush v. Gore decision on Dec. 12, led the Justice Department to send about 5,000 observers and prompted the NORC-backed review of 175,010 rejected ballots. Those federal-oversight precedents shape today’s DOJ monitoring effort in Pennsylvania, coordinated with the DNC, RNC and Common Cause.

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DOJ Sends Monitors

The U.S. Department of Justice will send federal election monitors to four Pennsylvania counties for the November 3 election.
Monitors will serve Philadelphia, Allegheny, Luzerne and Lehigh counties.
They will observe polling places and take notes, without uniforms or identification pins.
Monitors must follow state rules and voting laws, including the Voting Rights Act and ADA.
County officials may eject any monitor who breaks rules, though none have been removed historically.

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