Voting rights advocates make clear: Monitors must follow all local, county, and state laws
Detroit, Michigan – Department of Justice plans to deploy election monitors in three Michigan cities – Detroit, East Lansing, and Lansing – were revealed Monday. While the deployment of federal election monitors is not uncommon, some local election officials who received the letters say that the reasoning for the deployment of the monitors is faulty, leaving questions as to whether these efforts are part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to politicize election administration and interfere in key states ahead of the 2026 midterms. In response, All Voting is Local Michigan State Director Ashiya Brown issued the following statement:
“While historically, election monitors have been an important part of protecting voters and ensuring the freedom to vote for communities whose access to the ballot box has been limited, the broader context of the Trump administration’s political agenda of election denial cannot be ignored. This latest threat of sending election monitors to three cities with large populations of Black voters and other communities of color is just the latest attempt in a long line of desperate actions to interfere in Michigan’s elections.
“But we will not be intimidated. Voters should feel confident when they vote using whatever available voting method works best for them, whether it’s early in-person voting, absentee, or in-person on election day. Michigan’s state and local election workers run our elections—not the federal government. Our election officials and election workers work hard to execute each step of the checks and balances in our election system to ensure that every eligible voter can cast a ballot and that every vote is counted.
“Any and all attempts to unlawfully interfere or intimidate Michigan election workers or voters are unacceptable. All election monitors, whether sent from the DOJ or elsewhere, must behave in accordance with state and local law; we have systems and people in place to ensure this. We will not let the Trump administration’s actions intimidate us and keep us from voting. Hands off our vote!”