The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to New Haven on Tuesday to observe — but not to “intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process” — on Election Day.

Mayor Justin Elicker announced that news in a Friday afternoon press release, which also included a letter sent to the DOJ on Thursday by Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans and Republican Registrar of Voters Lisa Milone.

The registrars’ letter tells the DOJ that election monitors are not allowed to enter any polling places in the city.

“We understand that the Department of Justice has a long history of conducting election monitoring in our nation,” Evans and Milone wrote. “We also recognize that there is a current climate in our nation where rhetoric and federal actions appear to be intended to cast doubt on election integrity and to intimidate voters. As such, we believe the presence of election monitors at polling places in New Haven could make our polling places feel less accessible to all. Therefore, we do not permit election monitors to enter any polling places in New Haven.”

Friday’s announcement came as the Trump administration plans to dispatch election monitors to selected polling places across the country, prompting concerns among state and local election officials that the feds may meddle with Tuesday’s results.

It also comes as the DOJ is actively suing the city in a bid to overturn New Haven’s “sanctuary policies.”

Secretary of the State spokesperson Matthew Clyburn told the Independent that, as far as his office knows, New Haven is the only municipality in Connecticut that the DOJ plans on sending election monitors to during Tuesday’s midterms.

Mayor Justin Elicker’s press release states that the city found out about the DOJ’s intention to send election monitors to New Haven in mid-October.

That information came in the form of a letter and email sent to City Clerk Michael Smart on Oct. 21 by James Thomas Tucker, a senior trial attorney with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

Tucker’s email states that the DOJ intends to send election monitors to New Haven on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

“As the Civil Rights Division has done in the past, our monitors only observe,” Tucker wrote. “They do not intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process.”

Tucker asked to set up a Microsoft Teams call to discuss the matter.

He also wrote, “Generally, we are monitoring for compliance with the federal voting rights statutes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Division.” Those include the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to the mayor’s press release, the Secretary of the State’s office told the city that the DOJ plans to send two teams of two people, “focusing on polling locations subject to the Federal Voting Rights Act mandatory language-assistance requirement, which under federal law includes all of New Haven.” That requirement focuses on communities with a threshold of voters who speak a language other than English.

City spokesperson Lenny Speiller said that the DOJ has not advised the city which specific polling sites they intend on going to. Speiller also said that over 3,500 people have voted in New Haven so far during the early voting period.

A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.

“Given President Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine and cast doubt on free and fair elections across the nation and given the politicization of the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration, we believe posting federal election monitors at polling places would be counterproductive and make our polling places feel less accessible,” Elicker is quoted as saying in Friday’s press release.

“Connecticut has very clear laws and restrictions that govern poll watcher activity at voting sites. Our Registrars will be reminding and providing guidance to the city’s poll site moderators of these laws and will work to ensure they are followed.”

Also on Friday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro — a Democrat who is running for a 19th two-year term in office — sent out an email press release decrying the DOJ’s decision to send election monitors to New Haven.

“The Justice Department has a proud history of protecting the right to vote,” she said. “This is not that. This administration has spent years casting doubt on our elections. Coming from them, sending federal monitors to New Haven polling places is meant to make voters feel watched and unwelcome.”

DeLauro said that New Haven’s Democratic and Republican registrars “stand together on this, and I stand with them. Under Connecticut law, these monitors may not enter our polling places, and they have no power to arrest, detain, or search anyone. Connecticut runs free, fair and secure elections.”

DeLauro concluded: “To the people of New Haven: do not let anyone scare you away from the polls. Vote early this weekend at City Hall or Southern Connecticut State University, or vote at your polling place on Tuesday. Your vote is your voice. No one can take it from you.”

Monitors will stay 75 ft. from polls, will not be armed

On Saturday afternoon, Matthew Clyburn, a spokesperson for the Secretary of the State’s office, provided a comment from Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, elaborating on relevant state law and on a recent phone call with the DOJ.

“Connecticut General Statutes § 9-236 clearly defines who is permitted inside a polling place, and federal Department of Justice election monitors are not among those authorized to enter,” Thomas said. “The same rules apply to everyone, regardless of who they are or whom they represent. Like other members of the public, DOJ monitors may observe from outside the 75-foot restricted area.”

Thomas said that representatives from her office, the City of New Haven, and the Connecticut Attorney General’s office recently met with DOJ officials “to review what Connecticut law does and does not permit at polling places, including the restrictions that apply to federal election monitors.”

She said that the DOJ made clear that they plan on sending two teams of two monitors to visit New Haven polling locations “to observe compliance with federal voting rights laws, with a focus on language assistance and accessibility for voters with disabilities.”

Thomas said the DOJ assured the state and local officials that the election monitors:

• Will follow all rules of the state and jurisdiction.
• Will remain outside the 75-foot restricted area surrounding polling places.
• Will observe without interfering with the voting process or the work of election officials.
• Will not carry firearms.
• Have no powers of arrest, detention, search, or seizure.
• Will speak with voters only with their explicit consent, and only outside the 75-foot boundary.

She also said that the various parties agreed that:

• Two teams will focus on polling locations subject to mandatory language assistance.
• The monitors will focus on ensuring voters have received proper assistance with voting and that the exterior areas are accessible to those with disabilities.
• The DOJ will send the names and titles of these monitors to our Office.
• Monitors will not interfere with voters exercising their right to vote.
• The DOJ will provide information for a point of contact and our Office will do the same.
• The DOJ will send a “Do’s and Don’ts” check list for the monitors. 
• Our office agreed to codify the conversation in a letter that was sent earlier today.

Thomas noted that the DOJ plans to send monitors to locations across the country, and that the rules governing their access vary by state. “Barring federal monitors from inside polling locations is not a partisan issue, but an issue of state law. Election officials in Indiana and Kentucky, among other jurisdictions, have also made clear that DOJ monitors must remain outside polling locations in accordance with their state laws.”

Thomas concluded: “I want every eligible voter in New Haven and across Connecticut to know that our polling places are ready to welcome you. Our election officials have worked hard to prepare for Election Day, and nothing about the presence of federal monitors changes your right to vote. Make your plan, cast your ballot and vote with confidence.”

This story was first published Oct. 30 and updated Oct. 31, 2026 by New Haven Independent.