The Justice Department announced Thursday it will be on the alert for voter fraud, intimidation and foreign election interference.
Starting Thursday through Election Day, the U. S. attorneys across will work with specially trained FBI personnel in all voting districts to handle complaints of election fraud.
“Americans have the opportunity once again to help shape the future of this nation by exercising their right to vote,” said Attorney General William P. Barr in a statement. “The Department of Justice will work tirelessly alongside other federal, state, and local agencies to protect that right as it is administered by state and local jurisdictions across the nation.”
The department’s Criminal Division and 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices will monitor for the destruction of ballots, vote-buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots and other federal crimes.
In addition, each U.S. attorney has designated an assistant U.S. attorney to serve as a district election officer (DEO). The DEO will oversee potential election crime cases while coordinating with the department’s election experts in Washington, D.C.
The department’s Civil Rights Division, which has monitored elections around the country since 1965, will be on the lookout for voter discrimination by race or gender; blocking voting for people with disabilities and voter intimidation.
Meanwhile, the National Security Division will probe allegations of foreign election interference or violent extremists. It will work with the FBI to combat any election threats.
President Trump has repeatedly claimed voter fraud is a major issue in the election, alleging that millions of votes were cast illegally in the 2016 elections.
He formed a voter fraud commission in 2017 to investigate that claim, but the commission was terminated after it failed to uncover evidence of significant voter fraud.
Voter fraud is a hot-button issue, but is also rare. A 2017 report by the Brennan Center for Justice found that the rate of voter fraud was between 0.0003% and 0.0025%. The report concluded that an American is more likely to be struck by lightning than attempt to impersonate someone else at the polls.
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