Sumner County was not on the list when the U.S. Department of Justice sent federal election monitors to three Tennessee counties on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The DOJ assigned monitors to Davidson, Knox and Shelby counties, according to a list the department published on Election Day. The deployment is part of what the department called its largest monitoring effort ever, with approximately 1,000 monitors and observers sent to all 50 states for the first time. The effort is coordinated by the department's Civil Rights Division.

How past efforts compare

In the 2022 midterms, 289 people were sent to polling places, a DOJ official told CBS News. The 2024 presidential election involved 714 monitors across 86 jurisdictions in 27 states, according to the same official.

During the 2026 primary, the DOJ dispatched monitors to 11 states, Tennessee Lookout reported.

Because the deployment is so large, the department tapped employees outside the Civil Rights Division and those with voting-rights experience who have typically served as monitors in the past, according to the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan legal advocacy organization cited by Tennessee Lookout.

What monitors can and cannot do

The monitors are DOJ employees checking for compliance with federal voting-rights laws, including the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act. The department's Disability Rights Section is also working to ensure voters with disabilities have equal access, according to the DOJ.

A DOJ spokesperson said monitors would only observe and report potential federal law violations to the department for review after Election Day, according to Tennessee Lookout.

Federal monitors have no authority over poll workers or election officials and are subject to the same state laws as private and volunteer election observers, Tennessee Lookout reported. Adam Altendorf, organizing director of Organize Tennessee, a nonpartisan group that trains volunteer election observers, told the outlet, "They're not allowed to enforce state law." He added that monitors are largely barred from speaking with voters until after they finish voting and are prohibited from political activity.

Concerns raised

Some voting-rights groups and local election officials have raised concerns that the large deployment could intimidate voters, according to USA Today. The NAACP said it believes the monitors could suppress turnout, particularly among minority voters, USA Today reported.

In Tennessee, Shelby County Election Commissioner Linda Phillips confirmed Nov. 2 that she had received notification federal monitors would be at Memphis polling locations. "No reason has been shared regarding why our county was selected, but we are one of three Tennessee counties to receive the notice," Phillips said in a statement, according to Tennessee Lookout. Phillips noted the last time election monitors were present in Memphis and Shelby County was 2018.

A spokesperson for Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins did not reply to questions Nov. 2 about which counties would receive monitors, Tennessee Lookout reported.

How to report problems

The DOJ said voters with questions or complaints about federal voting rights can call the department's election-issues hotline at 1-800-253-3931 or email [email protected]. Voters with disability-related concerns can call 1-800-514-0301. Threats or violence at polling places should be reported to local police by calling 911.