DOJ Sends 4 Election Monitors to New Bedford Polls Amid Voter Roll Dispute
Updated
Updated · The New Bedford Light · Sep 2
DOJ Sends 4 Election Monitors to New Bedford Polls Amid Voter Roll Dispute
3 articles · Updated · The New Bedford Light · Sep 2
Summary
Two DOJ monitor teams visited New Bedford precincts on Tuesday, with city officials saying four federal observers had been assigned to watch primary voting practices.
Poll workers and local watchdogs reported no voter interference, saying the monitors mostly took notes and asked how Spanish-speaking and disabled voters would receive assistance.
About 150 volunteer poll monitors were also deployed across Boston, New Bedford, Lowell and Lawrence by the Election Protection Coalition to watch the federal observers and polling sites.
The monitoring follows a July DOJ plan to cover New Bedford and at least 14 other jurisdictions and a separate request for city voter rolls that Mayor Jon Mitchell refused last month.
Mitchell said the voter-list request looked like unwarranted federal intrusion rather than a good-faith Voting Rights Act review, reflecting broader local sensitivity after 2024 voting-machine and ballot complaints.