Minnesota officials to have people monitor federal observers outside polling places during primary
Tuesday is the long-awaited primary in Minnesota and turnout is expected to be high.
State officials are preparing for observers from the U.S. Department of Justice at some polling locations.
The absentee and mail ballot numbers have already topped the highest nonpresidential primary year, with more than 200,000 people already having voted. That could mean a turnout that exceeds 22%, which also would be a record.
Since Ramsey County and Hennepin County both said they don't want the federal observers inside the polling places, they will be outside.
"So, they'll be standing outside the 100-foot zone, and we, working with the Attorney General's Office, plan to have people watching the watchers, just in case. Just in case," Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said during a briefing with top election officials on Monday. "I think that's a reasonable thing to do given the record of the last several months and the very real concerns, and even anxieties, that people have about the Justice Department in particular."
Simon says the observers have been present at elections in Minnesota before, and that they were also present in Michigan's primary on Aug. 4 and everything went smoothly.
The DOJ says they're deploying approximately 20 staff members from the Civil Rights Division's voting section and the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office to monitor compliance with federal election laws.
"This is not new. This has been done the last several cycles," said Simon. "But I certainly understand why reports of agents of the federal government at the polls would alarm people, especially here in Minnesota, given what we have all gone through over the last several months. So, I wanna say that we aren't taking anything for granted."
He added that federal observers may ask voters questions, but that voters do not have to answer. Precautions are also being taken against cyberattacks, but Simon and his staff say there are no links to the recent attacks on water systems.
"While election systems, like water systems, are considered to be part of the nation's critical infrastructure, we are not aware of any overlap between that water-related cyber threat activity and our election systems," Simon said.
WCCO visited the Coyle Community Center as well as several other polling places, including the Phillips Community Center in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center High School, the Brooklyn Center Community Center, the Brooklyn Park Community Center and the Family of God Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park. No one appeared to be a poll watcher at those sites.
A few voters and campaign workers at the Coyle Community Center said they saw four DOJ poll watchers between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. They stayed outside the 100-foot zone and showed identification to voters they approached, the workers said.
Learn more about voter resources and details about key races in the WCCO 2026 primary election guide.
