Justice Department Warns of People Posing as Federal Election Monitors in Florida
Federal officials alerted South Florida election offices to reports of impostor monitors at early voting sites. No cases have been confirmed in Miami-Dade or Broward — and Lee County voters should know who actually runs their polling place.
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Florida election officials about individuals who may falsely claim to be federal election monitors, according to reporting from CBS News Miami and Local 10 on October 31. The alert raised concerns about voter confusion and intimidation at polling locations as millions of Floridians voted early.
Election officials in Miami-Dade and Broward counties said they had not received confirmed reports of people impersonating federal monitors at their polling locations, and no suspects have been publicly identified in connection with the warning. The Justice Department has said its authorized federal monitors will be deployed on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, and will carry official identification. In a separate court filing reported this week, the department's voting section chief said no FBI or ICE agents will serve as election monitors.
For Lee County voters, the practical rule is simple: polling places are run by the Lee County Supervisor of Elections and its poll workers. Anyone claiming federal authority at a Lee County site who cannot be verified by the elections office should be reported to that office. Election Day polls in Lee County are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and voters cast their ballots at their assigned precinct that day.
