Passaic County is heavily Democratic, but flipped to support Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor)
The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it will install election monitors in Passaic County, acceding to a request from Republican Party officials there.
The announcement comes 11 days before Election Day, when the governor’s race and all 80 Assembly seats will be on the ballot. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is vying against Democrat Mikie Sherrill to become our next governor.
“We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
The announcement follows a request for federal intervention from GOP officials who have sought greater scrutiny of mail voting in Passaic, a heavily Democratic county that flipped to support Trump in last year’s presidential race. Federal officials did not provide a justification for the deployment of monitors.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the federal deployment “highly inappropriate.”
“DOJ has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions,” he said in a statement. “The Constitution gives states, not the federal government, the primary responsibility for running elections, and our state’s hardworking elections officials have been preparing for months to run a safe and secure election. We are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and make their voices heard.”
Platkin’s office said he is weighing options to prevent voter intimidation and election interference as a result of the federal deployment.
A spokesperson for the Passaic County Board of Elections, whose membership is split equally between Republicans and Democrats, said it is aware of the feds’ plans and will cooperate.
“The Board is committed to ensuring that the election is administered fairly, securely, and smoothly and will cooperate with the USDOJ to achieve those objectives while ensuring that eligible voters are able to cast their vote,” said Lindsay Reed, a spokesperson for the board.
She added that the board would accede to the department’s request to observe the transfer and counting of mail ballots. Democrats vote by mail at far greater rates than Republicans.
Voting fraud allegations are not unheard of in Passaic County. In 2020, Paterson Councilmen Michael Jackson and Alex Mendez, who had not yet taken office, were charged with mail ballot fraud and related charges for allegedly acting as ballot bearers for more than three ballots — the maximum allowed under state law — and for failing to identify themselves as ballot bearers.
A Superior Court judge ordered the May election be rerun that November, and both men won the do-over race. Neither has been convicted, and both were reelected last year.
The judge’s order made no finding of voter fraud, leaving that to criminal courts, but ordered a new race because of various procedural violations related to mail voting.
The Department of Justice said it would also deploy election monitors to five California counties. Four of those counties are politically competitive, and one is overwhelmingly Democratic.
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