Newsom faces pushback over DOJ federal election monitors criticism

California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s rebuke of the Justice Division’s transfer to watch his state’s November elections is drawing robust criticism, together with from a DOJ official who famous the transfer isn’t uncommon.

“Donald Trump’s puppet DOJ has no enterprise being concerned in subsequent month’s election,” Newsom wrote Friday in response to the information of the DOJ plans to ship federal election displays to California and New Jersey for his or her intently watched elections subsequent month.

“Sending the FBI to polling locations in California is a deliberate try to discourage voters and undermine truthful elections. We won’t again down. Californians determine our future – nobody else.”

Many on social media, together with DOJ Assistant Legal professional Common for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, have been fast to level out that the Justice Division has an extended historical past of directing election monitoring sources to areas with a historical past of issues to make sure election legislation compliance.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom of California throughout a signing occasion concerning the redrawing of the state’s congressional maps, August 21, 2025. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Photos)

“Lol take it simple bro,” Dhillon posted on X. “The @TheJusticeDept below Democratic administrations has been sending federal election displays for many years, and never as soon as have we heard that this was voter intimidation by states like California. Do you actually need to go there? Is not transparency a great factor?”

Dr. Houman Hemmati posted on X“Hey @GavinNewsom WHY would a official voter be “deterred” by having federal election displays? Most individuals suppose official voters usually tend to vote as a result of they belief the method.

“However you are clearly afraid of one thing. I’m wondering what that’s…”

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor in California to interchange term-limited Newsom, wrote on X“Gavin definitely appears involved about folks seeing how he is dealing with elections.”

Republican events in each California and New Jersey petitioned federal observers as California was scheduled to vote on a poll measure aimed toward redrawing the state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats, opposing states like Texas which have redrawn their maps in favor of Republicans. New Jersey votes in a intently watched gubernatorial election.

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Assistant Legal professional Common for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon arrives for a press convention on the Division of Justice on September 29, 2025 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos)

The Justice Division has despatched election displays to California twice in the course of the Biden administration, in the course of the 2022 basic election and in the course of the 2022 election. 2024 general election.

“This isn’t a federal election,” Newsom’s press workplace mentioned posted on X. “The DOJ has no enterprise or foundation to intervene on this election. That is solely about California amending our state structure.

“This administration has made no secret of its purpose to undermine free and truthful elections. Deploying these federal forces seems to be an intimidation tactic designed for one factor: suppressing the vote.”

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Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in San Francisco on August 7, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu through Getty Photos)

Biden’s Justice Division additionally directed election sources to a number of non-federal elections, together with Municipal elections in Alaska in October 2023, a New Jersey basic elections outdoors the 12 months in 2023 and Mississippi general off year in 2023.

Fox Information Digital reached out to Newsom’s workplace for remark.

“Through the current elections, now we have obtained experiences of irregularities in these counties that we worry will undermine both voters’ willingness to take part within the election or their confidence within the declared final result of the election,” California GOP Chairman Corrin Rankin wrote in a letter to Dhillon on Monday.

The The New Jersey GOP despatched an identical letter about Passaic County, which is closely Latino and as soon as favored Democrats however voted for Trump in 2024.

The state GOP alleged a “lengthy and sordid historical past” of vote-by-mail fraud.

Democrats in each states have opposed the choice.

New Jersey Legal professional Common Matt Platkin referred to as the transfer “extremely inappropriate” and mentioned the DOJ “has not even tried to establish a official foundation for its actions.”

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Voters make alternatives of their voting cubicles at an early voting website. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)

Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan mentioned election displays are normal apply throughout the nation and that the county, with 5.8 million registered voters, is regularly updating and verifying its voter knowledge.

‘Voters can trust in it The vote is dealt with safely and precisely counted,” he mentioned.

Through the 2024 elections several Republican-led states pushed again on the Biden administration’s efforts to ship federal sources to watch the election, arguing that current state measures have been passable.

Election displays are attorneys who work for the Justice Division, together with within the civil rights division and at U.S. lawyer’s workplaces throughout the nation. They don’t seem to be legislation enforcement officers or federal brokers.

For many years, the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division has despatched attorneys and workers to watch polling locations throughout the nation in each federal and non-federal elections. The displays are charged with guaranteeing compliance with federal voting rights legal guidelines.

The Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division enforces a variety of legal guidelines that shield voting rights. This consists of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and threats in opposition to those that forged votes or rely votes. And it consists of the People with Disabilities Act, which requires election officers to make sure that folks with disabilities have the total and equal alternative to vote.

Fox Information Digital’s Brie Stimson and The Related Press contributed to this report