Federal election observers will be stationed in Marion and Lake counties on Election Day, Nov. 3, after the U.S. Department of Justice notified the Marion County Election Board earlier this week.
A Justice Department letter to the board did not say why the two counties were chosen. The department told officials the monitors will only observe, checking compliance with federal voting-rights laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and will not interfere with voting.
A spokesman for the Marion County Clerk's Office, Dan Goldblatt, said the choice comes off as partisan but that the election board is very curious to learn more. The board has already approved a response protocol giving poll workers step-by-step guidance for interactions with federal monitors.
U.S. Rep. André Carson, who represents Indianapolis, criticized the decision, noting the two counties are home to large numbers of Democratic, Black and Hispanic voters, and he urged residents to vote early. Early voting in Indiana runs through Nov. 2.
Lake County Election Board Director Michelle Fajman said she had only heard speculation about why her county was picked and that guidance for poll workers there will depend on more information from the state.
The Indiana monitoring is part of a national deployment the Justice Department has put at about 1,000 observers for the midterm elections, up from 289 in the 2022 midterms and 714 in the 2024 presidential election. Attorneys for the Marion County election board are scheduled to meet with Justice Department representatives on Oct. 28.
