Citing what he calls President Trump’s “repeated attempts to undermine and cast doubt on free and fair elections,” New Haven mayor Justin Elicker says federal election monitors won’t be welcome inside the city’s polling places on Election Day.
“We currently have a federal government… that around the nation has a history of undermining elections and bringing into question election integrity, which around the nation is overwhelmingly strong, and is making efforts to intimidate people,” says Elicker. “Given that climate right now, it is not helpful or productive to have election monitors representing the federal government near our polls.”
After the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently informed New Haven that it would be sending the monitors, the mayor’s office says that New Haven registrars Shannel Evans and Lisa Milone told the DOJ:
…the presence of election monitors at polling places in New Haven could make the city’s polling places feel less accessible to all and, pursuant to Section 9-236 of the Connecticut General Statutes, federal election monitors may not enter any polling places in New Haven.
In a statement, a DOJ spokesperson said, “State or local approval is not required for Department monitoring. Department monitors follow the state and local laws and rules that govern polling locations, and every monitor is trained on the rules for their assigned jurisdiction.”
Mayor Elicker told WTIC News that if federal monitors attempt to enter New Haven polling places, it will be up to polling site moderators to intercede, saying, “If there is an issue, they should call the city’s attorneys to help guide them through any circumstance should a poll monitor violate state law. We don’t anticipate that happening.”
