AMARILLO, Texas (CN) — On the eve of the Election Day, Texas announced that it filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice over its plans to monitor polling sites in the state.
The state, in its nine-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’ Amarillo Division, names several federal officials at the Department of Justice as defendants, including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is a co-plaintiff in the suit alongside the state, is arguing that the DOJ’s deployment of election monitors constitutes intimidation.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s lawless intimidation campaign infringes on States’ constitutional authority to run free and fair elections,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Texas will not be intimidated and I will make every effort to prevent weaponized federal agencies from interfering in our elections.”
On Nov. 1, the DOJ announced its plans to send election monitors to 27 states to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws. Of the 86 jurisdictions identified in the announcement, eight are Texas counties spread across the state in which 9.7 million Texans reside. Large population centers such as Dallas County, Bexar County — home to San Antonio — and Harris County — home to Houston — are all listed as jurisdictions where federal observers will be present.
The department lists several statutes, including the Voting Rights Act, Nfational Voter Registration Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, that observers will be looking to ensure polling places and central counting facilities are abiding by.
However, the state of Texas argues that the DOJ lacks the authority to execute its monitoring plans and would violate state law if otherwise blocked from doing so. Poll watchers and state inspectors are just two of the 15 identified persons who are statutorily authorized to be at a polling site, but the state argues the federal observers are not. The same goes for persons permitted to be at a central counting facility.
The state explained that because a poll watcher must be appointed by a candidate or political party, the DOJ fails to satisfy requirements to be present at polling locations.
Before the state filed its complaint in federal court, the Texas Secretary of State — which is responsible for conducting elections in the state — sent a letter shortly after learning about the Justice Department’s plans, saying that federal observers are not allowed into polling sites for central counting facilities. A response to the letter was not noted in the complaint.
The state has requested a federal judge to temporarily and permanently block DOJ observers from being present at voting and central count facilities in the Nov. 5 election.
In the lead-up to the election, AG Paxton — who is a close ally of former President Donald Trump — has been filing lawsuits and conducting investigations related to voting in the state. Most recently, Paxton’s office sued the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that the agency failed to comply with the state’s request to verify the citizenship status of registered Texas voters.
The office has also been involved in lawsuits it filed against Bexar and Travis counties over their effort to register voters before the election. In August, state law enforcement officers and the attorney general’s office also conducted raids targeting volunteers with the League of Latin American Citizens, including the group’s state director. Paxton said the raids were in connection with a vote-harvesting and fraud investigation connected to the 2022 election. The group has condemned the raids, calling them voter intimidation.
As for the lawsuit filed Monday, it is not clear how early relief may be given or denied. By filing the case where the state did, it is likely that it will be assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee who has in the past been more receptive to lawsuits filed by the state and conservative groups.