DOJ observers denied access to Hennepin, Ramsey polls, will be watched by state observers
DOJ will have election observers in Minnesota for Election Day
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon briefed the media ahead of Tuesday’s primary election and said that federal election observers will be coming to Minnesota for tomorrow’s election.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - State observers will monitor Department of Justice observers on primary day after they were denied access to monitor polling locations in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
DOJ observers in Minnesota
The backstory:
Secretary of State Simon said the Department of Justice had alerted some counties it planned to send observers to polling locations. However, Simon said that officials in Hennepin and Ramsey counties had denied the DOJ access to its polling locations.
"Both Hennepin and Ramsey County have declined the DOJ’s request to allow these observers, as they can under the law," said Simon. "DOJ can announce that they want to send them; local governments can say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ and they have. They do need that explicit permission under Minnesota law to be in the polling place."
What we know:
The Department of Justice had observers in Michigan last week for its primary and Simon said he wasn't aware of any issues there.
Simon explained that there was a precedent for the DOJ sending observers and this is something that has been done under previous administrations.
"This is not a new process," explained Simon. "As we said before, this has been done the last several election cycles under multiple presidents, including President Biden. And Minnesotans may well have voted at a polling place with a federal observer there and not even noticed a thing."
Simon says the stated reason for the observers was to ensure that jurisdictions were complying with the Voting Rights Act that requires voting resources to be made available in languages other than English along with accessibility for disabled voters.
State observers will observe the observers
What's next:
The DOJ said they will still send observers to polling locations in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. However, those observers have been told to observe restrictions and stand outside 100-foot boundaries around the polls. It's unclear if the federal observers will use visible markings or how they might identify themselves, Simon said.
Simon said the state will send its own observers to monitor the federal observers and ensure that they are abiding by the boundaries.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are working with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to observe the observers," said Simon. "So they’ll be standing outside the 100-foot zone, and we, working with the Attorney General’s Office, plan to have people watching the watchers, just in case."
What they're saying:
In a statement to FOX 9's Emily Pofahl, Attorney General Keith Ellison which read in part: "Out of an abundance of caution, my office will be observing the seven teams of federal observers to ensure that they and everyone respect state law and that every Minnesotan who is eligible to vote to register to vote has free access to their polling place. Because these DOJ observers have monitored elections in Minnesota and other states in previous years without incident, including Michigan just last week, we do not expect any violations of the law."
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriary added in a separate statement saying her office was prepared to prosecute any violations of the law: "Our office is fully prepared to protect and defend your right to vote. Any reports of threats, harassment, or intimidation directed at voters or election workers will be reviewed and, if appropriate, prosecuted."