US Attorney General Pam Bondi

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

Passaic County is among six jurisdictions nationwide that the U.S. Department of Justice will monitor on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division announced Friday, Oct. 24, that it routinely deploys attorneys and staff to observe elections across the country to protect the rights of eligible voters and maintain public confidence in the electoral process.

“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”

Passaic County joins five California jurisdictions — Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange, and Los Angeles counties — in the Department’s 2025 monitoring initiative.

Letter From GOP Leaders

The announcement comes just days after New Jersey Republican leaders formally requested federal monitors for Passaic County.

In an Oct. 20 letter addressed to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, attorney Jason N. Sena of Archer & Greiner, P.C., writing on behalf of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, asked the Civil Rights Division to dispatch federal monitors to the Passaic County Board of Elections for the upcoming election.

Sena cited what he described as a “long and sordid history of VBM fraud with multiple indictments” involving vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots in recent elections and said the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office had been “incapable of enforcing the law and protecting the integrity of elections in Passaic County.”

The letter also criticized the Passaic County Board of Elections and its chairman John Currie, claiming county officials “routinely stand in opposition to basic transparency” and opposed measures to install video cameras and logbooks to track access to ballot storage areas.

Sena requested that federal monitors oversee “the receipt and processing of vote-by-mail ballots in the Nov. 4 General Election” and ensure “around-the-clock access” to the Board of Elections.

The letter concluded by stating that Republican stakeholders had “information regarding VBM ballot fraud” they were prepared to share with the Civil Rights Division.

Michael Zhadanovsky, deputy director of communications for the NJ Attorney General's Office released the following statement to Daily Voice:

"Our State is committed to ensuring a free, fair, and secure election, and we will not allow anyone to interfere with or disrupt our elections. The Trump Department of Justice’s announcement that it is sending federal “election monitors” to Passaic County is highly inappropriate, and DOJ has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions. 

"The Constitution gives states, not the federal government, the primary responsibility for running elections, and our state’s hardworking elections officials have been preparing for months to run a safe and secure election. We are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and make their voices heard, and we are considering all of our options to prevent any effort to intimidate voters or interfere with our elections."

Election Monitoring

According to the DOJ, its Civil Rights Division enforces laws including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act to safeguard free and fair elections. Personnel are routinely assigned to polling sites to observe operations, communicate with state and local officials, and assess whether voters can cast ballots freely and fairly.

The Division conducts monitoring in both federal and non-federal elections nationwide — including this year’s New Jersey gubernatorial race, one of the most closely watched contests in the country.

Members of the public can contact the DOJ’s Voting Section at VEM@usdoj.gov to report potential voting rights violations or request additional election monitoring.