Trump’s DOJ will monitor 5 California polling sites at state GOP request
The Department of Justice is sending election monitors to five California polling stations on Election Day following a request from the state GOP, which Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted as a voter suppression tactic as California voters weigh whether to enact new congressional districts aimed at breaking the GOP’s House majority.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that monitors would be sent to five polling sites in Fresno, Kern, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties after California Republican Party leader Corrin Rankin asked the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to intervene earlier this week.
On Monday, Rankin wrote to division leader Harmeet Dhillon, calling the Newsom-led ballot initiative, Proposition 50, “politically charged” and claiming there were “irregularities” in each of those counties that could discourage voters from participating in the Nov. 4 special election.
A national poll published Friday by Emerson College predicted that Prop. 50, which Newsom and national Democrats have presented as the party’s best chance of retaking power in the 2026 midterms, would pass with 57% statewide approval. If voters pass Prop. 50, it will pull liberal voters into five newly drawn districts to oust incumbent Republican Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert and David Valadao.
“This is not a federal election. The US DOJ has no business or basis to interfere with this election. This is solely about whether California amends our state constitution,” Newsom’s office said in response to the DOJ’s announcement. “This administration has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote.”
State GOP spokesperson Matt Schupe referred a request for comment back to Rankin’s letter.
“No amount of election interference by the California Republican Party is going to silence the voices of California voters,” said California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks in a statement. “Sadly, we’ve come to expect it from a so-called party operating as little more than a Trump fan club — especially in trying to rig the game before it’s ever played.”
Efforts to ensure voter integrity have drawn scrutiny from both parties in California, where both have criticized the state’s slow pace of ballot counting. Since Trump’s election, Democrats have criticized GOP-led election integrity efforts, pointing to the president’s support for voter conspiracies, his pardoning of protestors who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory certification, and his installment of federal officials like Dhillon who disputed the 2020 election results.
“The Department of Justice will do everything necessary to protect the votes of eligible American citizens, ensuring our elections are safe and secure,” Dhillon said in a statement. “Transparent election processes and election monitoring are critical tools for safeguarding our elections and ensuring public trust in the integrity of our elections.”
Bondi said monitors would also be sent to Passaic County in New Jersey, where voters are set to weigh in on a highly competitive gubernatorial race between Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former GOP Rep. Jack Ciattarelli that has drawn national attention.
“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” Bondi said in a statement. “We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Trump’s DOJ will monitor 5 California polling sites at state GOP request."
