Two-dozen federal Department of Justice monitors will observe Election Day voting — and conduct voluntary exit interviews — in two Indiana counties from outside the polling locations, election officials said Wednesday.
Up to 12 are expected to come to central Indiana’s Marion County, with another dozen going to Lake County near Chicago. The heavily blue areas host the state’s only Democratic representatives in Congress.
Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said the observers will remain at least 50 feet from the entrance to the polls, just like people passing out campaign literature. This banned zone is the “chute.”
“Outside of every vote center or early vote center, there is a placard that is affixed either to the wall, to a window, to a stake outside that says ‘No campaigning beyond this point,'” she said. “… Well, same with federal election monitors. You can’t do anything past this point.”
She and Marion County Election Board attorneys spoke with DOJ representatives on Wednesday over the phone after receiving written notice last week of the impending visit.
Lake County Election Board Director Michelle Fajman reported meeting with the agency on Tuesday, while the Indiana Election Division did so the day prior.
“Their default position is to remain outside and not enter the voting location unless state law otherwise permits their entry. In our agency’s view, our state law does not give federal monitors access to enter any voting location,” an Indiana Election Division official said.
The DOJ has for decades deployed monitors across the country to watch the voting process.
But its plans to dispatch 1,000 observers to all 50 states are more ambitious than usual: just 289 were sent out for the 2022 midterms, and 714 for the 2024 presidential election, CBS News has reported.
Questioning to center on voting rights laws
Sweeney Bell said she was told the monitors in Indianapolis will work in teams of two, visiting an expected six or seven of the city’s 182 vote centers to conduct exit interviews with voters.
The conversations are voluntary. The observers can’t make someone speak.
“A voter doesn’t have to answer a question if they don’t want to, and they will not be penalized in any way, shape or form for ignoring anyone they encounter on their way into or out of a vote center in Marion County,” Sweeney Bell said. “… If they want to tell somebody trying to talk to them to pound sand, that’s their right. They will not get in trouble for it.”
The monitors will be in plain clothes, not DOJ uniforms, according to her and the Indiana Election Division. They won’t be law enforcement officers and they won’t be carrying firearms.
Not all of them actually work for DOJ; the agency’s Civil Rights Division is also using observers from other federal entities. But all will have temporary credentials from DOJ, according to Sweeney Bell.
They are supposed to provide that ID upon request.
DOJ representatives indicated the observers’ questions would focus on three areas, including polling accessibility, as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and provisional ballots, as related to the Help America Vote Act.
They also emphasized language assistance required in certain jurisdictions by the Voting Rights Act. But neither county is subject to that mandate.
Sweeney Bell said they did not mention alleged noncitizen voting.
That’s despite an emphasis on election security from other Hoosier officials cheering on the DOJ.
Attorney General Todd Rokita said he “welcome(s)” the agency’s decision, citing the charges his office has filed against an alleged noncitizen accused of voting illegally in Indiana elections.
“It does happen, and we know there are more out there. That’s why it’s critical to ensure the laws are being followed,” Rokita said in a Monday news release. “Federal monitors who observe and report simply add another layer of accountability to the work our great state already does to protect the integrity of every legal vote.”
Asked why the DOJ selected Marion and Lake Counties for monitoring, and if observers have previously been sent to Indiana, the agency repurposed a statement it appears to be using nationally:
Voters with questions or concerns in the two affected counties can call Marion County’s election hotline at 317-327-VOTE and the Lake County Election Board at 219-755-3795.
“We will be in all 50 states, including Indiana, doing the routine election monitoring the department has done for decades. All monitors must meet the same legal and ethical requirements, including that they not interfere with the voting process,” the statement reads. “Every monitor has the same role: observe for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the Department, which the Department will review after Election Day and act where appropriate.”
Sweeney Bell said she is encouraging everyone to follow the rule of law.
“They’ve got a right to be there, just as our voters have a right to vote free from harassment, intimidation, or any sort of coercion,” she said. “So I’m not going to say the sky is falling until I see it with my own eyes.”
Lake County’s Fajman said in a Wednesday evening news release that the county is “confident in our procedures and our commitment to compliance with state and federal voting laws.”
“Our priority remains ensuring that every eligible voter can cast a ballot safely, privately, and without interference,” she said.
This story has been updated with additional information and comments from the Lake County Election Board.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
