DOJ to send election monitors to Utah, lieutenant governor says

SALT LAKE CITY — The Department of Justice will be sending election monitors to Utah ahead of the midterms, according to Utah's lieutenant governor.

Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson said she was informed the election monitors would be sent in a post on Threads. There was "no indication" of where the monitors would be stationed or how many would be arriving in Utah, according to the post.

The election monitors will be required to follow state laws applying to poll watchers, she said, and the monitors will not be wearing badges or insignias. However, the monitors will identify themselves to poll workers, based on the information she got from the Justice Department.

The monitors will not speak to or approach voters, will not be armed or carrying concealed weapons and will not be allowed to interfere in any way with the election process, according to the post.

According to the lieutenant governor's office, the Justice Department previously sent poll watchers to San Juan County in 2018, 2022 and 2024. It did not delve further into the state's history of other poll monitors, but KSL Investigators previously reported that San Juan County had experienced challenges with voting dating back to the 1980s.

On Tuesday, Henderson said nearly 1,500 Utah voters had signed up to track their mail-in ballot online. Approximately 6.45% of Utahns have already voted, according to Henderson, with the highest turnout so far in Garfield County.

Utah residents can continue to register to vote online up until 5 p.m. Friday. Following Friday's deadline, residents will need to register in person at polling locations.

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