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The NAACP is asking a federal judge to block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from deploying federal law enforcement agents as election monitors” during the 2026 midterm elections, warning that their presence could intimidate voters, particularly Black Americans.
The civil rights organization filed an emergency request for a temporary restraining order in NAACP v. Blanche on Sunday (November 1). The NAACP announced the legal action in a statement on Monday (November 2), one day before Election Day.
According to the organization’s statement, information obtained through Freedom of Information Act litigation revealed that the DOJ plans to deploy personnel from the Bureau of Prisons, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to monitor polling locations.
The DOJ plans to deploy at least 1,000 election monitors nationwide on Election Day, according to Democracy Docket.
The department has confirmed that FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will not be assigned to polling sites, Democracy Docket reported.
The NAACP is asking U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to prohibit federal law enforcement personnel from participating in the monitoring program.
Alternatively, the organization wants the court to prohibit those personnel from carrying firearms, badges or camera equipment or conducting law enforcement activities while monitoring polling locations.
"The law is clear - law enforcement agents can have an intimidating effect on voters, especially Black voters, and they have no role and no right to be inside our polling places," NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke said in the organization's November 2 statement.
The DOJ has argued that Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voter intimidation, does not apply to the federal government, according to Democracy Docket. The department has also maintained that its monitors will not perform law enforcement duties while observing polling locations.
The NAACP is pursuing the emergency action alongside Advancement Project and the Legal Defense Fund.
The organization is encouraging voters who encounter problems at polling locations to call the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE or visit NAACP.org/vote.
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