The Department of Justice is sending election monitors to Utah ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, state officials said Thursday.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson announced on social media that the Justice Department had notified the state of its plans to deploy monitors, though she did not specify how many would be sent or which locations they would visit.
Henderson outlined several details about the monitors, including that they must follow state laws governing poll watchers, identify themselves to election workers, and refrain from approaching or speaking to voters. They also will not wear badges or insignia identifying them to voters, carry weapons, or interfere with election activities, she said.
The Justice Department and the governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
The deployment comes as the Trump administration prepares to send approximately 1,000 election monitors nationwide for the 2026 midterm elections. The administration announced the plans in August, touting this year’s deployment as “probably going to be a historic number for a Republican administration.”
The Justice Department has sent election monitors to jurisdictions across the country during previous administrations. Under former president Joe Biden, the department deployed monitors to 86 jurisdictions during the 2024 presidential election and 64 jurisdictions during the 2022 midterms elections. During President Donald Trump’s first term, the department sent monitors to 44 jurisdictions for the 2020 presidential election.
Over the summer, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division sent letters to election officials in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C., urging them to maintain accurate voting records and registration lists. Election monitors were also present during some primary elections this cycle, with no states recording any incidents.
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Last month, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., warning them to maintain accurate voter registration lists. The department also announced it will send federal election monitors to 15 jurisdictions across six states during this year’s primary elections.
Utah law permits poll watchers to observe voting, ballot processing, signature verification, and the opening and closing of polling places. However, they are prohibited from recording activity that would reveal an individual’s vote or otherwise violate voter privacy.