ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida pushed back on plans from the federal government to send monitors to three South Florida counties as voters cast their ballots, according to The Associated Press.
One day before Election Day, the Department of Justice announced it would send monitors to 64 jurisdictions in 24 states to protect the rights of voters. In a statement, the DOJ said it has regularly monitored elections since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Monitors were to be sent to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
However, in a letter obtained by the Associated Press, Republican Secretary of State Cord Byrd's office told the Justice Department the federal monitors were not allowed inside polling places, the AP said. The letter said their presence could "undermine confidence" in the midterm election.
The Justice Department eventually said their monitors in Florida would be outside the polling places.
"They wanted to be inside the polling places and they couldn’t provide a reason to be there nor any statutory authority for them to be there, so we asked them that they respect Florida law," the AP reports Byrd said Tuesday, adding the monitors "can go there and do their job but they have to do that job outside the polling place."
According to the Washington Post, Chief counsel for the Florida Department of State, Brad McVay, said in a letter issued Monday that under Florida law the monitors would not be allowed in polling places. He also said the letter from the Justice Department does not outline details needed for federal monitors in the three counties.
"None of the counties are currently subject to any election-related federal consent decrees," McVay said in the letter.