Some GOP-led states are refusing to allow Justice Department observers into polling places.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Republican-led states say they will block Justice Department observers from entering polling places on Election Day, pushing back against federal authorities. many years of practice monitoring violations of federal voting laws.

Officials in Florida And Texas said they would not allow federal election observers into polling places on Tuesday. And on Monday, the state of Missouri filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order blocking federal officials from observing what’s happening at polling places.

Last week, the Justice Department announced it was sending election observers to 86 jurisdictions in 27 states on election day. On Monday, the Justice Department declined to comment on Missouri’s lawsuit or actions by other Republican-led states.

Race between Democratic candidates Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump It’s a tie, and both sides are bracing for possible legal challenges as the votes are counted. The Justice Department’s election monitoring efforts, a long-standing practice under both Democratic and Republican administrations, are designed to ensure federal voting rights are respected.

Here’s a look at election observers and states’ actions:

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Who are election observers?

Election observers are lawyers employed by the Justice Department, including the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country. They are not law enforcement officers or federal agents.

For decades, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has sent attorneys and staff to monitor polling places across the country in both federal and non-federal elections. Observers are tasked with ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division enforces a number of laws that protect voting rights. This includes the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and threats against those voting or counting votes. And that includes the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires election officials to ensure people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote.

Where are election observers sent?

The 86 jurisdictions to which the Justice Department will send observers on Tuesday include Maricopa County, Arizona And Fulton County, Georgia which in 2020 became the center of election conspiracy theories spread by Trump and other Republicans. Another place on the list is Portage County, Ohio, where the sheriff has come under fire for post on social networks in which he said people with Harris yard signs should write down their addresses so immigrants could be sent to live with them if a Democrat wins the presidency.

Other regions where federal observers will be sent include Detroit, Michigan; Queens, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Jackson County, South Dakota; Salem, Massachusetts; Milwaukee, WI; Manassas, Virginia; Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Northwest Arctic County, Alaska. DOJ observers will be located in St. Louis, Missouri; four jurisdictions in Florida and eight jurisdictions in Texas.

What’s happening in Missouri?

In filing the lawsuit Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said state law “clearly and specifically limits who can be present at polling places.”

The lawsuit says Missouri law “only permits certain categories of persons to be present at polling places, including voters, minor children, accompanying voters, election workers, election judges, etc.,” and not federal officials.

The Justice Department also sought to monitor Missouri’s 2022 polling stations. The agency planned to send officials to Cole County, which includes Jefferson City, the state capital. County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer said he wouldn’t let them in if they showed up.

The federal agency backed down after Ashcroft showed Justice Department officials the state law, Ashcroft said. He says the Justice Department is now “trying to go through the back door” by seeking access to local election officials.

Messages were left Monday with the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners.

In 2021, the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners reached an agreement with the Department of Justice aimed at ensuring people with mobility and vision impairments can access polling places after federal officials found problems such as ramps that were too steep and inaccessible parking. according to court documents. The agreement, which expires next year, says the board must “cooperate fully” with the Justice Department’s compliance efforts, “including, but not limited to, providing the United States with timely access to polling places (including on the day elections)”.

What do other states say?

In a letter to the Justice Department on Friday, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson wrote that “Texas law is clear: DOJ observers are not permitted to enter polling places where ballots are cast or the central counting center where ballots are counted. »

“Texas has robust processes and procedures in place to ensure that eligible voters can participate in free and fair elections,” Nelson wrote.

In a similar letter Friday, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd told the Justice Department that Florida law lists who is allowed at the state’s polling places and that DOJ officials are not included. Byrd said Florida is sending its own observers to the four jurisdictions where the Justice Department plans to send officers and they will “ensure there is no interference in the voting process.”

__ Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed reporting, Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri.