DOJ says it will send monitors to observe Utah's elections
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The U.S. Department of Justice is sending monitors to observe November's midterm elections in every state, including Utah.
Why it matters: The move comes as Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R) continues to stand firm on her refusal to hand over the state's unredacted voter list to the federal government.
Zoom in: Henderson told reporters Thursday she received a letter from the DOJ notifying the state that election monitors would be sent to Utah, though she doesn't know how many or where they'll be deployed.
- Henderson said the DOJ has sent election monitors around the country in the past, typically in response to a civil rights violation, but not on this scale. She doesn't believe they've ever been sent to Utah.
- Salt Lake County received a similar notification, she said.
What they're saying: "I can't speak to the motivation behind sending election monitors to Utah," Henderson said. "... We're just not aware of the scope or the reason behind it."
The monitors will look for "potential violations of federal law" and report concerns to the department, a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement to Axios.
- The department said all monitors "must meet the same legal and ethical requirements, including that they not interfere with the voting process."
Catch up quick: The DOJ sued Utah in February to seek access to the state's voter data.
- Henderson announced in September that she received a letter from the DOJ that revealed the department has been investigating her since 2025 for not providing the voter list.
- In a "60 Minutes" interview that dropped Sunday, Henderson said threats from the past two elections she oversaw came from out-of-state actors and cyber security risks.
- "But now we also have threats coming from within our own government," she said.
Between the lines: Henderson noted that the monitors are subject to Utah's poll-watching law.
- Under the law, poll watchers can observe voters checking in at polling places, watch signature verification and observe the inspection of manual ballots.
Yes, but: They can't record activity that would reveal how a person voted or interfere with their right to vote.
Reality check: A recent Utah Valley University report found no widespread fraud or meaningful differences in voter roll maintenance between in-person and mail voting systems.