DOJ Monitors New Hampshire Primary | US News

0:00It's September 8th. This is US News Today, powered by AI bringing you what matters across the US. The Department of Justice is keeping a close eye on polling places in Manchester and Nashua for today's New Hampshire primary. Their goal is to make sure everything runs smoothly, the ballots are secure, and all federal laws are followed. This isn't a new thing. They've been doing this throughout the primary season and are already gearing up for the mid-term elections to build trust. Nationwide. Four staff members from the Civil Rights Division's voting section are stationed in each of those cities. The US Attorney's Office for New Hampshire is working with them, emphasizing that the state's elections, especially this important. First, in the nation primary, should inspire the highest confidence. They're committed to making sure elections are fair and legal. This monitoring effort is part of a larger plan. Back in July, the division announced they'd be sending monitors to 15 different locations across six states for the 2026 primary season.

1:00They've been expanding this program, sending monitors to primaries in Florida and Wyoming just recently. The DOJ plans to have about 1,000 election monitors out for the November election, which they say is a historic number for a Republican administration. This New Hampshire deployment comes after a recent court case where the department lost the bid to get an unredacted voter registration list. A federal judge ruled against them, stating they hadn't shown they were entitled to that specific information. The Secretary of State in New Hampshire had pushed back on providing that data, citing voter privacy and arguing the federal government hadn't, justified its request. So while the DOJ is monitoring the polls today, there's been some back and forth regarding access to voter information.