The U.S. Justice Department deployed officials across the country on Tuesday to monitor the voting process in the midterm congressional elections in districts with Democratic majorities, as a criminal investigation into a Senate campaign in Alaska continued to expand.
The department announced that it would send 1,000 election monitors to districts across all 50 states. A Reuters analysis showed that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris defeated President Donald Trump in approximately two-thirds of those districts in the 2024 presidential election.
Black and Latino voters make up the majority in many of these districts, which are concentrated in states that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration has adopted a strict approach to election monitoring, pressuring states to hand over voter registration data and arguing that tighter measures are necessary to ensure public confidence in the voting process.
This included asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block California from counting mail-in ballots cast by more than 20,000 voters whom federal officials say are likely non-citizens. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit on Monday evening. Critics have described these measures and the monitoring program as potential voter intimidation.
In Alaska, the Senate race was thrown into turmoil after The New York Times reported last week that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit a third candidate who shares both the first and last names of her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan. Peltola denied any involvement.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the allegations and is working to broaden its scope.
A source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the department had sent letters to more than 20 individuals informing them that they were under criminal investigation.
The source added that one of the recipients was voting rights attorney Marc Elias, whose law firm frequently represents Democrats in court.
