The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent approximately 1,000 election monitors to polling locations across all 50 states on Tuesday, Nov. 3. It is the first time the agency has monitored elections in every state at once.

Rockwall County is not on the list.

Seven Texas counties are: Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Waller, Blanco, Bowie and Nueces, according to the DOJ's announcement. The department called it the largest monitoring effort in its history. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division is coordinating the operation.

Dallas County, Rockwall's neighbor to the west, is among the monitored jurisdictions. The DOJ did not say how many monitors would go to each county or which polling locations would be watched.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement that election integrity has been one of the top priorities for the administration and the division. She said the department is pursuing transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner.

What monitors will check

Federal monitors will watch for compliance with voting rights laws, including the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That covers voter intimidation, discrimination and barriers that could block eligible voters from casting ballots, according to the DOJ.

The department's Criminal Section enforces federal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion. Its Disability Rights Section checks that voters with disabilities have equal access.

Monitors include personnel from the Civil Rights Division, other DOJ components, U.S. Attorney's Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton denied an emergency request on Monday, Nov. 2, but ordered the DOJ to ensure monitors are administrative or clerical personnel, not law enforcement officials. They must be unarmed, out of uniform and have no power to make arrests, Democracy Docket reported.

Concerns from officials and advocacy groups

The deployment drew pushback. Some voting-rights groups, including the NAACP, said they believe the monitors could suppress turnout and discourage voters, particularly from minority communities, USA Today reported.

Some local election officials also expressed concern that a large wave of observers could intimidate voters, according to Axios.

In Bexar County, Elections Administrator Michele Carew said she asked DOJ officials why her county was selected. She said they pointed to accessibility requirements, bilingual election staffing and a backlog of Department of Public Safety applications submitted before early voting began, according to Fox San Antonio. Carew said she did not believe the county was being targeted.

In Bexar County, federal observers must stay outside the 100-foot boundary around polling locations and wear name tags, Carew said.

High early-vote turnout in Texas

More than 7.4 million Texans voted early in the midterm election, according to figures from the Texas Secretary of State's office reported by WFAA. That is up from about 5.49 million early votes in the 2022 midterms. Collin County, which borders Rockwall County, recorded 380,536 early voters.

Polls across Texas are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters with questions or complaints about federal voting rights can call the DOJ's election hotline at 1-800-253-3931.