'Continued harassment': Lawsuit to ban feds from polling sites filed by Missouri Republicans
'The DOJ just doesn’t seem to get it – we don’t need them here,' says Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Missouri's secretary of state and attorney general filed a lawsuit Monday aimed to block the Department of Justice from interfering with polling places on Election Day.
"No one is above the law," Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in a press release. "The law clearly and specifically limits who may be in polling places and this action by the DOJ is not allowed. Once again the federal government is attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri’s elections."
The suit comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it would deploy election monitors to 86 voting jurisdictions across 27 states, including both Republican-led states such as Florida and Democrat-led states such as California.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The DOJ has deployed election monitors to polling stations nationwide since the 1965 Voting Rights Act in an effort to better ensure fair ballot access and prevent partisan influence, according to the Washington Post. The number of jurisdictions that are set to be monitored this year is a 49% increase from the 2020 election, and roughly matches the number of jurisdictions the DOJ monitored two decades ago during the 2004 election.
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Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft testifies during a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing on June 20, 2018. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Ashcroft explained that in 2022, Missouri officials banned the DOJ from entering and monitoring polling places, citing that the state has been identified as leading "the nation regarding election integrity as it pertains to accessible, secure voting with timely, credible results," according to organizations such as the conservative Heritage Foundation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Voters cast their ballots at a polling station at Hazelwood Central High School on Nov. 8, 2016, in Florissant, Missouri. (Getty Images)
"This is a repeat performance," Ashcroft continued. "Two years ago, we met with the DOJ. We showed them the law and explained that they have no jurisdiction to interfere in Missouri elections. Now they are doing the same thing; trying to go through the back door by contacting local election officials and making false jurisdictional claims for access rather than contacting my office directly. The DOJ just doesn’t seem to get it – we don’t need them here; we don’t want them here. This time we are taking it a step further and filing a lawsuit against the DOJ to get them to stop the continued harassment."
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey posted to X that he filed the suit against the DOJ Monday morning "for sending unauthorized poll monitors to Missouri polling locations."
"The law is clear that @KamalaHarris can’t just send unvetted individuals into our polling places. It’s illegal and undermines trust in our elections," he wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DOJ DEPLOYS DISTRICT ELECTIONS OFFICERS TO HANDLE 'THREATS AND INTIMIDATION'
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey addresses members of the press in the old post office building in Downtown St. Louis on Feb. 2, 2024. (Vanessa Abbitt/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Florida also banned federal monitors from polling stations in 2022.
The DOJ declined to comment on the suit in response to Fox News Digital on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The City of St. Louis' Board of Elections previously struck an agreement in 2021 to allow DOJ officials to monitor polling places, including on Election Day.
"Rather than contaminate the process - like in Virginia and Alabama, the DOJ should consider the Show-Me State as the example for other states when it comes to sound non-partisan elections," Ashcroft continued. "It would be highly inappropriate for federal agents to violate the law by intimidating Missouri voters and harassing poll workers."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Attorney General Merrick Garland addresses staff on his first day at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/AFP via Getty Images)
"The secretary of state's office has full confidence in our election authorities. Voting has been underway for several weeks and we are ready for Election Day. I want to personally thank all 116 local election authorities and the thousands of poll workers across Missouri who make our elections safe, secure and credible."
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Missouri is expected to again vote for the Republican ticket during the general election after previously voting for former President Trump by 15 points in 2020 and nearly 19 points in 2016.
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