GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids voters may see federal observers at their polling places on Nov. 3, after the U.S. Department of Justice notified the city that it will send election monitors.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that seven communities got the notices: Grand Rapids, Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Hamtramck, Lansing and Warren. Grand Rapids was not on the list in August, when federal observers covered the primary in Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing and East Lansing.
Nessel described the monitors as a routine part of elections and said her office will act against anyone who unlawfully interferes with or intimidates voters or poll workers. She said the monitors are usually federal attorneys and other department staff, and they were present in Michigan as recently as 2024.
Unless a local clerk grants more access, the monitors watch from 100 feet outside a polling place entrance. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said federal monitors have been a normal feature of voting in the state for years and called its elections safe and secure.
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