Feds sent to polls ahead of Minnesota primary

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Justice stationed federal agents to monitor polling sites in two Minnesota counties ahead of Tuesday's primary elections. 

The Justice Department announced Tuesday morning that agents from the Civil Rights Division will monitor polling locations in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. The two counties account for the majority of Minnesota's urban centers, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general in the department's civil rights division, said deployment of federal agents was part of broader efforts to ensure election integrity across the country. 

“The DOJ is committed to nondiscriminatory monitoring throughout the primary and general election seasons," Dhillon said. 

The Justice Department previously deployed staff to Minnesota counties in 2020, 2022 and 2024 federal elections. The agency also deployed agents to monitor polling stations in Michigan during the primary elections in the state last week. 

"We're sending actual DOJ civil rights lawyers," Dhillon said in a video posted to social media. "They are trained in election law, they are trained in observing these types of things and, who knows, you may even see me at the polls somewhere." 

Minnesota is among six states the Justice Department announced it would observe in July. Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia are all on the list where federal agents have or will monitor. 

Leaders in Minnesota slammed the Justice Department's plan to deploy agents in the two counties. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he plans to have state observers stationed to monitor the extent of federal oversight. 

"I certainly understand why reports of agents of the federal government at the polls would alarm people, especially here in Minnesota, given what we have all gone through over the last several months," Simon said. "I want to say that we aren't taking anything for granted now."

Simon said he was unaware of federal agents causing issues at polling places in other states. He emphasized the importance of having additional precautions after the uptick in federal agent presence following Operation Metro Surge, an effort to crack down on illegal immigration in Minnesota's urban areas. 

"They have in other states, to my knowledge, behaved themselves. We don't have any reason to believe they'll depart from that record this primary cycle, but we want eyes on the observers, and that's what we're aiming to do," Simon said.