Federal Judges Deny States' Bid Against Election Day Observers

Federal judges have denied the requests from Missouri and Texas to prevent the federal government from deploying election monitors. The Justice Department plans to send personnel to oversee compliance with voting rights laws during elections. Issues around state versus federal authority have emerged in these cases.

Federal judges have rejected attempts by Missouri and Texas, led by Republicans, to stop the federal government from dispatching lawyers to their states on Election Day. The U.S. Justice Department has announced that it intends to send staff to 27 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws, a common practice during national elections.

Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, while ordering the Justice Department to confirm no observers at Texas polling locations, declined the restraining order Texas sought. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had previously contended that the deployment of monitors infringes on states’ rights to manage elections independently.

Meanwhile, a Missouri court also denied the state's emergency request, maintaining that the anticipated harms were speculative. Missouri argued against federal presence at voting locations not sanctioned by state law. However, an existing agreement allows DOJ monitoring for accessibility compliance in St. Louis, stemming from a settlement about voting accessibility.

(With inputs from agencies.)