The U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to send election monitors to polling places in New Haven on Election Day.
In a letter from the Department's Civil Rights Division, the election monitors will observe "compliance with the federal voting rights statutes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Division." The letter states that the monitors will "only observe", and not "intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process."
In response, the city's Registrars of Voters said the the monitors will not be allowed into the polling places, citing state law that lists who is to be allowed into polling places. Federal monitors are not on the list. They also cited the higher tension surrounding unproven claims of voter fraud and federal actions to intimidate voters.
Arkansas, Indiana, and Kentucky have all banned federal election monitors from polling places.
As of Saturday morning, other Connecticut municipalities such as Bridgeport, Hartford, and Waterbury have not received letters from the Department of Justice.
