U.S. Department of Justice observers will be monitoring Tuesday's Luzerne County primary election, but will not be allowed inside polling places, County Manager Romilda Crocamo confirmed Monday.
Luzerne County will not be alone — the agency will be monitoring elections elsewhere across the country — nor will it be the first time the DOJ has observed an election here.
The DOJ also came to Luzerne County to observe the 2022 general election.
"As in November of 2022, the county will not grant permission for federal monitors to be stationed inside polling places, which means agency assessments will be performed outside polling places," Crocamo wrote in an email to Luzerne County Council.
"This is consistent with the county’s position that denial for interior access stemmed from concerns raised by multiple county officials that the presence of monitors inside could be disruptive or create the appearance of intimidation," she added.
According to the DOJ's website, the agency's Civil Rights Division "conducts monitoring of polling places on election day using federal observers, and as well as monitoring using Division attorneys and staff, to help assess compliance with the federal voting rights laws around the country."
In 2022, for example, the DOJ monitored 64 jurisdictions in 24 states, including four other Pennsylvania counties.
Crocamo said voters should immediately report complaints related to disruption at a polling place to officials in the polling place and local election officials, as well as to police and the DOJ.
"Intimidation of or violence toward poll workers or voters will not be tolerated," Crocamo wrote.
Anyone with questions or complaints related to accessibility for the disabled should contact the DOJ’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or submit a complaint through a link at https://www.ada.gov/.
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Follow WVIA's Primary coverage at https://www.wvia.org/local/pennsylvania-primary-2024
