Federal judge orders DOJ to ensure poll monitors are not law enforcement officials

A federal judge denied the NAACP’s request to block the Justice Department from sending election monitors to polling places, but ordered the department to ensure they are not sworn law enforcement officers and cannot make arrests.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, in an order Monday night, said the DOJ must also ensure its monitors are unarmed, out of uniform and do not display insignia identifying them as federal employees. The order applies to the department’s poll monitoring program for Election Day, Nov.