Politics
Oregon lays out limits as federal election observers prepare for Multnomah County
The Justice Department notified Oregon officials that federal observers will be sent to Multnomah County for the Nov. 3 midterm election. State rules bar observers from handling ballots, inspecting voting equipment or interfering with election workers and voters.
Federal election observers are expected in Multnomah County on Nov. 3 after the U.S. Department of Justice notified Oregon officials of its plans, prompting Secretary of State Tobias Read to emphasize that state law sharply limits what observers may do at election sites.
Oregon is among at least 10 states notified by the department’s Civil Rights Division that federal observers will be deployed. The other states named by officials are Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The Justice Department has not said how many observers will go to Multnomah County or why it was selected. The division’s head, Harmeet Dhillon, said last month that the department planned to send 1,000 observers nationwide, describing the effort as the largest in the agency’s history.
Election monitors commonly include civil rights lawyers and department staff sent to observe whether voting rights laws are being followed. This year, the department is also deploying criminal prosecutors as monitors, a departure from past practice.
Read said Oregon welcomes lawful observation but will enforce the rules that apply to everyone. Under state requirements, observers may not talk to election workers, disrupt conversations between workers and voters, photograph or record sensitive information, handle ballots or other official election materials, enter restricted facilities, inspect voting equipment or demand access to election records.
“Oregon’s elections are secure, accurate and fair, and we always welcome observers to watch our American election process unfold,” Read said in a statement. He added that no observer, including the Justice Department, may interfere with Oregon’s elections and said the state was prepared to ensure the law is followed.
The deployment comes amid broader concern among state officials about federal election oversight. President Donald Trump has sought to assert federal power over state elections and continues to deny his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. Dhillon has also denied the 2020 election results.
Wyoming’s Republican governor, Mark Gordon, previously asked his state attorney general’s office to investigate federal monitors’ conduct during a primary election. Gordon said the observers acted irregularly and aggressively, including by requesting access to voting machines.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions about the Multnomah County deployment.