DOJ Deploying Federal Election Monitors to New Bedford This September

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — The U.S. Department of Justice is planning to send federal election monitors to New Bedford for this year’s primary election in September, one of 15 locations across the country where it will do so and only the second in Massachusetts.

Federal Election Oversight Coming to New Bedford

“While no official communication has been received by the City or the Board of Election Commissioners to date, federal officials are welcome to observe elections here,” City of New Bedford Public Information Officer Jonathan Darling said in a statement to WBSM.

On Tuesday, July 7, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon posted on her official X account that the Department of Justice would be conducting “routine, nonpartisan election monitoring that’s been standard under both Republican & Democrat administrations for decades.”

In a video included with the post, she said the monitors would be deployed to 15 different jurisdictions in six states: Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Virginia. She said they are “sending the monitors into cities and counties where there have been some problems with elections.”

Dhillon also reiterated that it is standard for the DOJ to monitor elections. She said in 2024, 27 different jurisdictions were monitored during the primary election, and nine were monitored in 2022. Both of those elections were under the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

“We hope to increase voter confidence, make sure there are no language barriers or access to voting for Americans with disabilities, no failure to make sure polling places are open correctly for the amount of time necessary, and that everyone who has appropriate access to vote should be allowed to vote,” Dhillon said. “It’s also important to make sure voting is accurate, so that every citizen who votes has their vote counted equally and not canceled out by someone who shouldn’t be voting.”

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Dhillon also appeared the next day on The Joe Pags Show and listed some of the particular cities and counties in which these monitors will be deployed, including Boston and New Bedford, the only two locations in Massachusetts.

“I think it should be a welcome sign for voters in all jurisdictions that we have an eye on things,” she told host Joe Pagliarulo. “The more eyes on elections, in my opinion the better, the more people will be confident in the outcome of those elections, and we all want that as Americans.”

Why New Bedford Was Selected by the DOJ

It is unclear why New Bedford was selected as one of those locations. WBSM has reached out to the Department of Justice for more information but has not heard back as of this writing.

However, she did tell Pagliarulo that monitors were being sent “to places where there have been problems with the integrity of elections,” citing issues such as “where poll workers made mistakes in giving people access or didn’t let people come in, or they used the wrong poll books, they didn’t have the correct ballots for that jurisdiction so people were denied the right to vote.”

It may be that last issue that relates to New Bedford.

Looking Back at the 2024 Ballot Issues

In March 2024, in the presidential primary election, Ward 1-D opened the day without any Republican ballots for the first 40 minutes of the day, and Ward 1-F ran out of Republican ballots at around 12:15 p.m. and was without them for about 45 minutes.

Mayor Jon Mitchell called the issues with the ballots “unacceptable” and requested the City Solicitor’s Office conduct a thorough review. The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth requested the results of the City’s investigation into what happened. The MassGOP also filed a complaint with Secretary William Galvin’s office.

READ MORE: New Bedford Mayor: Republican Ballot Issues 'Unacceptable,' Review Underway

A little less than three months later, the investigation by Acting First Assistant City Solicitor Ryan A. Pavao concluded that there was “sufficient, credible evidence to determine that, although several errors occurred during the execution of the 2024 Presidential Primary Election of Tuesday, March 5, 2024, none of the errors were intentional, substantive, or had any effect on a single vote being able to be cast successfully during the election.”

READ MORE: 'Several Errors' During New Bedford Presidential Primary Election

Pavao determined that all voters affected by the various issues throughout the day were able to return to vote. He also made 14 recommendations that the City Elections Office should put into effect as a result of the investigation.