DOJ Civil Rights Division

Rule Changes

Deployed about 1,000 monitors in all 50 states on Nov. 3, including 71 in eight Michigan cities; told Michigan officials it would remind monitors of limits after complaints in Dearborn and Flint.

The Justice Department placed federal election monitors at polling places in eight Michigan cities on Nov. 3: Detroit, Dearborn, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Hamtramck, Lansing and Warren. About 71 went to Michigan as part of roughly 1,000 nationwide, the first time the department has sent monitors to all 50 states.

Updated 2 days ago

Rule Changes

Deployed about 1,000 monitors to more than 120 jurisdictions in all 50 states on Nov. 3. Officials in New Mexico and Michigan reported monitors overstepped; the DOJ said the questions were standard.

The Justice Department deployed about 1,000 election monitors to more than 120 jurisdictions in all 50 states on Nov. 3, the largest monitoring effort in its history. The list included New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and several New Jersey counties, and it was the first time the department sent observers to every state. A Washington Post analysis found nearly two-thirds of the selected jurisdictions have consistently voted Democratic.

Updated 2 days ago

Rule Changes

Plaintiff in voter data lawsuits; policy vacated nationwide and under appeal

The Justice Department wants unredacted voter files from every state that keeps registration records, including names, birth dates, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, for roughly 160 million registered voters. It sued 31 jurisdictions that refused. Courts have dismissed 27 of those suits, Oklahoma settled, and three remain pending.

Updated 3 days ago

Rule Changes

Dhillon resigned on November 5, 2026; the division had planned about 1,000 monitors for the November elections and faced the NAACP's suit.

Harmeet Dhillon, who took over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in April 2025, resigned as its chief on November 5, 2026, Al Jazeera reported. She left an office focused on election-fraud claims, campus discrimination cases and suits against universities.

Updated 4 days ago

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Leading voter data collection and election investigations

On January 28, 2026, FBI agents seized 700 boxes of 2020 election ballots from a Fulton County warehouse. Four days later, on February 1, the Georgia Senate passed a resolution urging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to hand over unredacted voter data to the DOJ — he refused, citing state privacy laws.

Updated May 23

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Restructured under Trump administration; prison civil rights enforcement halted

Georgia recorded seven prison homicides in 2018. In 2024, inmates killed 66 of their fellow prisoners—a nearly tenfold increase in six years.

Updated May 21

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Opened investigation into Alex Pretti killing January 30; declined to investigate Renee Good killing

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez denied Minnesota's request for a temporary restraining order against Operation Metro Surge on February 2, 2026. She cited insufficient proof of constitutional violations, though she acknowledged evidence of racial profiling and excessive force.

Updated May 20