The Justice Department announced early Tuesday that it is sending roughly 1,000 federal election monitors to all 50 states to observe Election Day voting.
Many are expected in populated areas that tend to vote for Democrats. They include past hot spots for election tensions, like Detroit, Philadelphia and Georgia’s Fulton County.
The monitoring program isn’t new, but it has faced criticism from voting rights groups concerned about federal interference and voter intimidation.
The NAACP sued last month after the department said it would include law enforcement officers in the program, but a judge ruled against the group overnight, arguing the government had made it clear that monitors would be in plainclothes, would not carry firearms and wouldn’t have the power to make arrests at poll sites.
The Justice Department has said its monitors will observe and will not interfere with voting.
