Nice Try, Feds: Texas Forces DOJ to Back Down on Forcing Election Monitors

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spiked the football on Tuesday after a legal standoff with the Justice Department over federal election monitoring went in the state’s favor.

The point of contention was the DOJ’s plan to send federal agents to monitor voting sites. Paxton argued that this move would infringe on Texas’ sovereignty and filed a lawsuit. “Texans run Texas elections, and we will not be bullied by the Department of Justice,” Paxton said in a statement posted on X.

Paxton concluded: “No federal agent will be permitted to interfere with Texas’ free and fair elections.”

MAJOR WIN: The U.S. Department of Justice agreed last night not to enter Texas polling and central count locations or otherwise interfere with the administration of Texas elections just hours after Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the DOJ over its announcement that it would send federal agents to “monitor” Texas elections. Texans run Texas elections, and we will not be bullied by the Department of Justice. The DOJ knows it has no authority to monitor Texas elections and backed down when Texas stood up for the rule of law. No federal agent will be permitted to interfere with Texas’s free and fair elections

🚨MAJOR WIN: The U.S. Department of Justice agreed last night not to enter Texas polling and central count locations or otherwise interfere with the administration of Texas elections just hours after Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the DOJ over its announcement that it would… https://t.co/Kvh69ZrxFY

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 5, 2024

In a letter to the Justice Department, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson affirmed that Texas law prohibits federal monitors from being inside voting locations, according to the complaint filed by the state’s attorney general’s office. “Texas law is clear: Justice Department monitors are not permitted inside a polling place where ballots are being cast or a central counting station where ballots are being counted,” she wrote.

The complaint’s central claim was that federal authorities “have no statutory authority to enter state polling locations in contravention of state law.”

“Texas law alone determines who can monitor voting in Texas,” the complaint continued.

The controversy came about when the DOJ announced its intention to deploy federal election monitors to eight Texas counties at the request of 62 state and federal officials. Texas and the DOJ reached an agreement that respects state law.

The move follows an agreement reached late Monday between the federal agency and the Texas attorney general’s office. The DOJ agreed their monitors in eight Texas counties will remain outside and at least 100 feet away from polling and central count locations. It also agreed to refrain from interfering with any voters attempting to cast ballots, following its usual practice.

The Justice Department regularly sends monitors across the country to keep an eye out for potential voting rights violations during major elections. The agency said on Friday that monitors would be on the ground in 86 jurisdictions in 27 states. The Texas counties are Atascosa, Bexar, Dallas, Frio, Harris, Hays, Palo Pinto and Waller counties.

The lawsuit will remain pending until the election concludes.