Republican governor asks his AG to probe election monitors
Sandego.net – Republican governor asks his AG to investigate what he described as “aggressive” conduct by federal election monitors deployed to Wyoming’s primary. Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, raised the issue at a state canvassing board meeting Wednesday, saying he directed his attorney general to examine the nature and scope of visits made by two Justice Department Civil Rights Division attorneys to Laramie County, which encompasses the state capital of Cheyenne. The move drew immediate attention because some state officials, including the attorney general’s office, were not notified in advance of the federal observers’ presence.
Wyoming’s Election Monitor Dispute
Gordon said the monitors’ demeanor left him unsettled. “It sounded like the behavior of the observers was a bit aggressive,” he told the canvassing board, adding that the conduct “just was irregular.” He confirmed that he had asked his attorney general to begin looking into the purpose, duration, and authority behind the visits. The governor stressed that his concern was procedural rather than partisan: “I’m not saying anything went wrong or anything else, and I certainly think that the conduct of this election was phenomenal.”
“I don’t like the federal government coming in and taking our votes.” — Gov. Mark Gordon
The Justice Department, when reached for comment, directed CNN to an August 18 statement from Wyoming U.S. Attorney Darin Smith. Smith wrote: “Voters deserve absolute confidence that their ballots are secure and their voices are heard without interference…. We are working alongside local officials to ensure every lawful vote is protected.” CNN has reached out to the governor’s office for additional comment.
The department said it has dispatched more than 80 monitors to seven states so far this year for primary elections, as of Tuesday. It has also indicated plans to send roughly 1,000 monitors to polling sites in November. Gordon’s criticism lands amid continued efforts by President Donald Trump to cast doubt on electoral outcomes. Earlier this year, the president baselessly alleged cheating in the Los Angeles mayoral primary before the DOJ sent a prosecutor to observe ballot processing. He also continues to claim, without evidence, that the 2020 election he lost to former President Joe Biden was rigged.
Democrats and voting-rights activists raised alarms last year, ahead of the off-year elections, that the monitors could be leveraged to undermine the voting process or serve as a precursor to sowing post-election doubt. The Trump administration, however, has insisted the deployments follow decadeslong federal monitoring practices. Gordon said he is not opposed to the concept of election monitors per se but raised concerns that the behavior of those deployed to Wyoming “seemed to exceed what the authority that Congress had given them was.” CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Wyoming governor ask his AG to investigate the federal monitors?
Gordon said the two DOJ attorneys’ conduct during the primary observation “seemed to exceed” the authority Congress granted them and that state officials were not briefed beforehand. He framed the inquiry as a matter of intergovernmental protocol rather than a challenge to the election results themselves.
How many election monitors has the DOJ deployed this year?
As of Tuesday, the department reported more than 80 monitors across seven states for primary elections. Approximately 1,000 additional monitors are planned for November polling sites.
What is the DOJ’s stated purpose for sending election monitors?
The department points to decadeslong federal monitoring practices and says its goal is to ensure voters’ confidence that ballots are secure and that every lawful vote is protected, working alongside local officials.
