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Texas refusing federal election monitors on Election Day
FOX 26 Reporter Jade Flury has more on why.
HOUSTON - Election Day is less than 24 hours away and the federal government is sending election monitors to polling locations across the country, but not here in Texas.
Poll workers and poll watchers are allowed at the polling sites, it’s the federal poll monitors that are being asked by the state to stay out of polling locations.
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The federal government routinely sends monitors to polling locations across the country to keep an eye out for any violations of voting rights. The Department of Justice said it will be sending monitors to 27 states on Election Day. However, the Texas Secretary of State declined the offer.
"States are free to decline federal oversight of voting locations these days. Texas and a couple of other states have declined to do so this year," said David Coale, a constitutional law attorney.
In a letter sent to the Department of Justice on Friday, Jane Nelson, the Texas Secretary of State, wrote to the DOJ saying the monitors aren’t allowed inside state polling sites under state law.
"We don’t need any more federal intervention. There’s no call for it," said Tom Ramsey, a Republican commissioner in Harris County.
"You’re trying to tell the federal government that they have no business in a federal election?," said Democratic Representative Gene Wu of Texas.
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Despite the states request, Democratic leaders in Harris County are putting in a request to the Department of Justice to bring in federal monitors to the polls.
"We ask for the presence of the Justice Department here, because Texas is one of the most voter restrictive states in the nation," said Democratic Commissioner Rodney Ellis of Harris County.
County democrats argue that the Secretary of State’s refusal to allow federal monitoring is an attempt at vote suppression, while Republicans counter that this claim is unfounded.
"I want voters to realize, all of the efforts by the state are designed to try and scare you into not voting," said Commissioner Ellis.
"So who is doing the voter suppression? The Democrats who are in charge of the election? It’s not the Republicans. We’re not in charge," said Republican Senator Paul Bettencourt of Texas.
"The fact that you have a little friction between the federal and the state government, it think is good. I think it shows that there’s a check and a balance in something that is very important," said Coale.
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Despite the Secretary of State’s request, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said she spoke to the DOJ on Monday and said federal monitors are still en route to be in Harris County during the election. It is unclear if they will be going to voting sites or if they will be on standby in case anything arises.