The department’s Civil Rights Division notified the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday of its plan. A spokesman for Secretary of State Tobias Read said the office had not been told that federal monitors would visit any other Oregon county.

Read said observers are welcome to watch the process but must not disrupt it. “It is not legal for these observers or anyone else to interfere with Oregon’s elections—even the Department of Justice,” he said in a statement.

Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott also said his office welcomes observers, while stressing that federal visitors must follow the same procedures as other observers. County rules bar observers from speaking with election workers, interrupting conversations between workers and voters, photographing sensitive voter information, or handling ballots and official election materials.

Read’s office said Justice Department monitors may observe election activities, document possible violations of federal voting laws and raise concerns with election officials. They cannot enter restricted election facilities, inspect voting equipment, handle ballots or demand election records, the office said. The state maintains that federal employees have no authority over election administration simply because they work for the Justice Department.

Oregon has conducted elections primarily by mail since the late 1990s. Ballots for the Nov. 3 election began going to voters on Oct. 14. In early September, Read urged voters to return ballots at drop boxes rather than through the mail, and the Legislature approved $1.25 million for 20 additional boxes. As of Friday, 12 had been installed across Coos, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Klamath, Lane and Multnomah counties; more were being installed.

The Justice Department has historically sent election monitors to help ensure voters are protected from discrimination and intimidation. The planned deployment comes amid broader disputes over election administration and voting by mail. President Donald Trump has falsely blamed mail voting for his 2020 election loss, and his administration has sought to change how federal elections are conducted through the U.S. Postal Service.

State and county officials say the Nov. 3 monitoring will not change who runs Oregon’s elections: the state and its counties. Multnomah County uses paid election workers to process and monitor ballots, and officials say any outside observers must comply with the rules designed to protect voters and the integrity of that work.