Don't mess with Texas.
Texas's top election official told the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)'s federal inspectors — tasked with "monitor[ing] compliance" — to stay away from the state's polling places and out of its elections process, warning that their interference is against state law.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, a Republican, sent Jasmyn Richardson, deputy chief of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division — Voting Section, a scathing letter Friday declaring that "Texas law is clear: Justice Department monitors are not permitted inside a polling place where ballots are being cast or a central counting station where ballots are being counted."
Secretary Nelson confirms in a letter to the @TheJusticeDept that federal monitors are not permitted in Texas polling locations under state law.
— Texas Secretary of State (@TXsecofstate) November 2, 2024
Texans can be confident in the state’s strong measures to ensure election integrity. pic.twitter.com/fwmobbe615
Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the DOJ is authorized to deploy federal observers to monitor ballot-casting and -counting sites. However, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder found that a key provision of the VRA violates Article Four of the Constitution, which guarantees each state's right to self-government and enjoy equal sovereignty. Following the landmark 2013 ruling, states now wield greater control over how they conduct elections within their jurisdictions.
Section 61.001 of the Texas Election Code identifies individuals who may be legally present on Election Day; inspectors acting on behalf of the federal government are not included in the enumerated list.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly backed Nelson's move. Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey reacted during a press conference: "My encouragement to the feds is: Stay in your lane. You got the letter from the secretary of state. Read it."
Nelson's announcement came after the DOJ announced it's ramping up election monitoring efforts and expanding where it will have boots on the ground. This is reportedly the most in-person surveillance of the ballot box in two decades. Nearly doubling the number of monitored areas this presidential election cycle, droves of DOJ watchdogs will be dispatched to 86 jurisdictions (up from 44 surveilled in 2020) across 27 states, including eight counties in Texas: Atascosa, Bexar, Dallas, Frio, Harris, Hays, Palo Pinto, and Waller. All seven swing states appear on the DOJ's watchlist.
Texas isn't the first GOP-led state to forbid federal poll watchers from entering voting locations statewide. During the 2022 midterms, the DOJ was denied entry in Missouri and Florida, and in 2024, Arkansas officials said DOJ election watchers were also not welcome there.
Despite pushback, the DOJ said it's still sending monitors to keep tabs on four counties in Florida as well as the city of St. Louis in Missouri.
Meanwhile, Missouri's Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft filed a lawsuit Monday over the DOJ's plans. "Once again the federal government is attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri's elections," Ashcroft said in a press release accusing the DOJ of overstepping its authority and punishing red states that have tightened voter ID laws.
Ashcroft Sues to Block DOJ Election Interference. #moleg #MOvotes https://t.co/Dkmswq2h60 pic.twitter.com/jIBuVput8n
— Missouri SOS Office (@MissouriSOS) November 4, 2024
In September, Texas Democrats penned a letter addressed to the DOJ asking federal authorities to intervene and monitor the state's five most populous counties.
"As the largest minority state under total conservative control, Texas voters — particularly minority voters — are constantly under attack for merely attempting their rights," the letter said.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, a Democrat who co-signed the letter, pushed back against the idea of state inspectors being deployed by the Texas secretary of state's office, telling ABC News he believes a so-called "neutral third party" should be monitoring instead.
"It's so important to have an objective, neutral third party set of monitors come into these jurisdictions to ensure that the state doesn't have its thumb on the scale and isn't trying to intimidate people who are merely trying to make our democracy work." Menefee urged.
On X, Menefee said the Texas state secretary's office "isn't an impartial agency — it's a tool for GOP power grabs."
"We need an objective third party, like the Department of Justice, to provide legitimate election oversight in Harris County and other counties across Texas," he reiterated. "Our democracy depends on it."
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