Federal election monitors fanned out across Tulsa, Oklahoma and Muskogee counties on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as part of the largest election-monitoring operation in U.S. Department of Justice history.
The DOJ deployed approximately 1,000 monitors and observers to all 50 states for the midterm elections, according to a department statement. It is the first time the department has sent monitors to every state. The effort is coordinated by the Civil Rights Division.
The three Oklahoma counties were among jurisdictions nationwide selected for monitoring. The DOJ said monitors would check compliance with federal voting rights laws. The department has sent election monitors since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, but the scale Tuesday exceeded previous deployments. By comparison, 289 monitors were deployed for the 2022 midterms and 714 for the 2024 presidential election, Newsweek reported.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in the department's statement that election integrity was a top priority for the administration and the division.
In Tulsa County, election board secretary Gwen Freeman said in an email, as reported by the Tulsa World, that monitors would visit only a small number of polling places. "They will not be present at every polling location in Tulsa County," Freeman said.
Oklahoma County Election Board secretary Doug Sanderson told The Oklahoman that the federal presence in his county was "extremely limited." He said he had not received reports of any issues linked to the monitors.
Oklahoma lawmakers from both parties questioned the deployment. State Sen. Regina Goodwin, a Tulsa Democrat, said at an Oct. 27 meeting focused on voting rights that the monitors were uninvited, according to KJRH. "We have the most secure voting processes in America, quite frankly," Goodwin said.
State Sen. Dave Rader, a Tulsa Republican, said the DOJ would find that Oklahoma has more secure elections than "49 other states," the Tulsa Flyer reported.
State Rep. Meloyde Blancett, a Tulsa Democrat, called the deployment "political fearmongering" and said she believed the monitors were there to intimidate voters, according to the Tulsa Flyer.
State officials said they had not been told why those three counties were selected.
Under Oklahoma law, DOJ monitors cannot enter polling places. They must remain outside the building and carry identification, though they will not outwardly identify themselves as federal officials, according to State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax. Monitors may ask to interview voters after they leave a polling place, but participation is voluntary.
"Based on my conversation with Department of Justice officials, I expect the monitoring process to fully comply with the requirements and limitations of state law," Ziriax said in a statement reported by the Tulsa Flyer. "I see no cause for alarmism regarding this matter."
The DOJ said in an Oct. 28 court filing that it would not send FBI or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to serve as monitors, Newsweek reported. Personnel will not carry firearms or exercise law enforcement authority while monitoring, according to court filings cited by Newsweek.
Voting rights groups, including the NAACP, said they believe the deployment could suppress turnout and disenfranchise voters, particularly from minority groups, USA Today reported. The government said its personnel must follow legal and ethical restrictions, according to Newsweek.
State Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, a Tulsa Democrat, encouraged voters to contact a precinct inspector or poll worker with any concerns on Election Day. The DOJ's election complaint hotline is 1-800-253-3931.
