As President Donald Trump continues to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections, signaling his intentions to challenge results unfavorable to Republicans, we go to Washington, D.C., where a federal judge ruled Monday night that the Department of Justice can deploy election monitors to polling sites across the country, as long as they are not law enforcement officers with the power to make arrests. “In some respects, this is a victory for voters. Every voter in our country deserves to be able to cast a ballot today, free from intimidation,” says Kristen Clarke of the NAACP, which sued to challenge the DOJ’s plans to deploy ICE agents and other armed officers to the polls. The NAACP was also part of a coalition that intervened when the Trump administration attempted to force California to set aside about 20,000 mail-in ballots that it alleged were sent incorrectly to noncitizens. “This was a baseless, error-prone, shoddy 11th-hour attempt to hijack the election in California, plain and simple, and it’s now been rejected by four courts,” Clarke says. The administration’s attacks on voters “are not bearing fruit,” she adds. “We anticipate and are ready for anything that they may throw our way.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
As millions of Americans head to the polls today for the historic midterm elections, we turn to voting rights and Election Protection. Nationwide, election officials are preparing for possible disruptions, including federal intervention at polling places, attempts to seize ballots or voting equipment, and intimidation of voters and election workers. Officials have been training poll workers, tightening security, preparing emergency legal responses.
Today, the NAACP — that’s the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — is mobilizing lawyers across 16 states to protect voters and challenge potential election interference at polling sites. But late last night, a federal judge denied an attempt by the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to block the Trump Justice Department from deploying federal law enforcement to serve as so-called election monitors at polling locations, including employees of the Bureau of Prisons, the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The civil rights groups had argued that the presence of federal agents could intimidate voters and deter them from casting their ballot.
Also Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to have California set aside about 20,000 mail ballots supposedly sent to noncitizens. The decision followed a series of defeats for President Trump in lower courts.
In related news, a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt its recent pressure campaign against election officials nationwide.
For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we’re joined by Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, previously served as assistant attorney general for civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Biden administration.
Kristen Clarke, welcome back to Democracy Now! There’s so much to discuss here. Can you talk about the thousand federal agents that the Trump administration is sending across the country, and what this midnight decision means? Who is going to be there? Will people be intimidated?
KRISTEN CLARKE: Well, good to be with you, Amy, on this extraordinary day as Americans take to the polls across our country.
The NAACP believes deeply that the path to the ballot box should be free from intimidation and harassment for every American. We know that this Justice Department announced plans very early to deploy election monitors across the country. In many respects, this is nothing to be alarmed about. During my time leading the Civil Rights Division, we would periodically send out monitors to a limited number of jurisdictions. We did so with the full cooperation of local election officials. We were transparent. We provided notice. And we looked at issues like disability access. We looked at language access. This Justice Department, we know, has a track record by which they focus on voter suppression, not compliance with voting rights laws.
The NAACP, along with our partners at Advancement Project and LDF, took to court over the weekend to really push this Justice Department to be clear with the American public about who’s serving as monitors. We learned, through separate litigation brought by the NAACP, that they indeed plan to send out personnel from the Bureau of Prisons, ATF and DEA. While a court denied our request for a temporary restraining order last night, the judge did mandate that the Justice Department confirm that they were not sending out any armed agents. And I’m pleased to share that the Justice Department has actually pulled back people from ATF and the U.S. Marshals who would have been deployed. So, in some respects, this is a victory for voters. Every voter in our country deserves to be able to cast a ballot today, free from intimidation.
AMY GOODMAN: Will ICE agents be deployed, Kristen Clarke?
KRISTEN CLARKE: No. And I’ll tell you, it’s been a busy season in the courts for civil rights litigators. Along with our partners at LDF, NAACP filed suit several weeks ago to ensure that we would not have ICE presence at the polls. Through the litigation that I just discussed, we also had confirmation from the Justice Department that there would be no FBI or ICE agents.
So, we feel very confident that voters should feel safe and secure casting their ballots today. But we need folks to be vigilant. I will be working with my counterparts at other organizations and prepared to go to court today to beat back any threats if they arise. But we want to make sure that all people are able to freely register their voice at the ballot box today.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you tell us what happens — walk us through what happens — when a voter calls your Election Protection hotline to talk about intimidation? And where do they call? What do they do?
KRISTEN CLARKE: Yeah, we are proud to be a part of the Election Protection hotline, a nonpartisan hotline, anchored by 866-OUR–VOTE. And there are lawyers, trained lawyers, on deck across the country who are helping voters troubleshoot problems, helping voters confirm their polling place location, resolve issues about their voter registration status, reminding them that they have the right in a federal election to cast what’s called a provisional ballot if, for some reason, their name is not on the registration list.
And we’re here to resolve problems about voter intimidation that may arise. If, for example, we learned about a local law enforcement officer who set up a speed trap near a polling place, that’s the kind of issue where we will immediately get on the phone with local officials to remove that deterrent. So, all day, until the last ballot is counted, voting rights lawyers and civil rights lawyers are ready and prepared to resolve all of the challenges that voters may encounter today, to help ensure that everyone’s able to successfully vote.
AMY GOODMAN: Speaking of driving, when you talk about blocks, the NAACP is working on a nationwide field operation to get people to the polls?
KRISTEN CLARKE: Indeed. We also have members across the country who have been galvanized and working hard. The NAACP focuses on really reaching first-time voters, low-propensity voters. We have an operation that is based in Detroit today and Atlanta, Georgia, that’s working on turning out the vote, getting out the vote, helping people get to the polls. And so, we’re working both inside and outside the courtroom to make sure that democracy works for everyone today.
AMY GOODMAN: You know, a lot of people questioned what DOGE was doing, breaking into different federal agencies right when Trump was first elected, taking information. It might be the voter — it might be information about Americans that could be used to go after voting rolls. And, for example, in California, the Trump administration is taking its ballot fight to the Supreme Court, coming after a federal appeals panel refused the administration’s request to have California set aside 20,000 mail ballots supposedly sent to noncitizens. Talk about the — what’s most recent in the court ruling on this case.
KRISTEN CLARKE: Yeah, the NAACP is a part of that fight in California, along with our partners at Campaign Legal Center, Democracy Defenders and more. The administration showed up with a thumb drive and a sticky note and tried to compel officials to use that thumb drive to pull up a list of 20,000 people who were purportedly not qualified to vote in California. This was a baseless, error-prone, shoddy 11th-hour attempt to hijack the election in California, plain and simple, and it’s now been rejected by four courts: a district court, the 9th Circuit twice now, and, as of yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a one-sentence order, declined to take up the case.
It shows you, I think, how far the Justice Department has fallen. This is a Justice Department that is operating at the behest of President Trump, that is all about pursuing a partisan agenda, and that will go to the courts and take to the courts even where they don’t have facts to support their claims, and even when the law is not on their side.
Their effort failed in California. And everyone across the great state of California should be able to freely cast their ballot today and trust that the local and state election officials who are in charge know what they’re doing.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, what are your biggest concerns, Kristen, about what the Trump administration and the Justice Department could do after the polls close that could impact how the votes are counted?
KRISTEN CLARKE: Yeah. So, the NAACP, along with partner organizations, have been engaged in a lot of scenario planning, really gaming out any and all things that this administration might do to hijack the election. And we were prepared for all the threats and have been busy in the courts, from California and Alaska, you know, down to Florida and Texas. We’ve been busy fighting back, and we’re prepared for everything that might arise on the other side.
But so far, we’re having resounding success in the courts in virtually all of the cases where we’ve seen these thinly veiled attempts by the Trump administration to hijack and distort and promote chaos. Their efforts are not bearing fruit. And we anticipate and are ready for anything that they may throw our way on the other side of the election.
AMY GOODMAN: And very quickly, in Alaska — you mentioned it — a federal judge rejecting the Trump administration lawsuit seeking to block certification of Tuesday’s vote if the president’s choice, the Republican, doesn’t win. Explain the court’s decision, in this last 20 seconds.
KRISTEN CLARKE: Yeah, well, this claim that there was confusion for the voters with two Sullivans on the ballot was already something litigated all the way up through the Alaska state Supreme Court, and a federal court has now soundly rejected that claim. It can’t be resurrected by the Justice Department, which didn’t even set forth a violation of law in the complaint. So, another win for voters in Alaska, who have the opportunity to register their voice fully at the ballot box today.
AMY GOODMAN: Kristen Clarke, I want to thank you for being with us, general counsel of the NAACP, previously served as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.
Tune in tonight for Democracy Now!‘s four-hour live election night special, starting 8 p.m. Eastern. That’s 5:00 Pacific time. We’ll be streaming live at democracynow.org and on our YouTube channel.
Coming up, we look at the rise of the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. Five more DSA members are expected to win congressional seats today. We’ll also look at how Latino voters could help shape today’s midterms. Stay with us.
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AMY GOODMAN: “It’s a New Day” by LaOx.
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