Marion County voters may see federal election monitors outside some vote centers on Election Day, Nov. 3.
The U.S. Department of Justice notified the Marion and Lake county clerks on Oct. 22 that it intended to send monitors. Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell later spoke with the department and shared the details with IndyStar.
Twelve monitors are coming to Marion County, working in teams of two. At any one time they could cover only about six of the county's 182 vote centers, and the clerk does not know which centers they will choose. Nationally, the deployment is about 1,000 monitors, compared with roughly 700 in 2024.
The monitors will stay outside vote centers, as campaign volunteers do, after the Indiana Election Division told the Justice Department its reading of state law does not allow federal monitors inside. They will wear business-casual clothing, carry federal identification and a letter from the clerk's office, and will assess compliance by interviewing voters as they leave, focusing on disability access, language assistance and provisional ballots.
Voters are not obligated to speak with a monitor. Anyone who feels threatened or intimidated should tell the inspector at the location or call Marion County's hotline at 317-327-VOTE.
