DETROIT, Mich. — Detroit voters will see federal election monitors at polling places on Election Day, Nov. 3, after the U.S. Department of Justice notified the city and six other Michigan communities this week.
The department’s Civil Rights Division sent the notices on Oct. 21 covering Detroit plus Warren, Flint, Hamtramck, Grand Rapids, Lansing and East Lansing. The list grows from the August primary, when only four cities drew monitors: Detroit, Lansing, East Lansing and Hamtramck. State officials said that primary ran without significant disruptions tied to the monitors.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said the monitors are typically federal attorneys and other department staff, and that they hold the same standing as any member of the public watching an election. Under state rules they are barred from talking to voters, from touching ballots or voting machines, and from getting in the way of poll workers.
Anyone who tries to scare off voters or poll workers could face action from the attorney general’s office, Nessel added. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called federal monitoring an expected part of the process and said election officials work year-round to protect the vote.
Federal staff have watched Michigan elections before, including the 2024 presidential race.
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