Fresno Deploys City Monitors After DOJ Sends Observers

Fresno City Council voted 6-0 to deploy personnel from the City Attorney’s Office as election observers at all city polling sites for the Nov. 4 special election on Proposition 50, adding city monitors on top of federal and state observers after the U.S. Department of Justice said it would send monitors to five California counties. Officials said the observers are nonpartisan and intended to prevent voter intimidation or interference and to ensure all votes are counted. City monitors will cover a dozen-plus city locations while Fresno County operates 26 voting centers, 13 of them inside the city, that began opening Oct. 25. The decision followed a surprise closed-session announcement and drew mixed reactions: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the DOJ deployment as an intimidation tactic, while county elections officials said observers don’t change operations and that they were not informed in advance of the city’s plan. City Attorney Andrew Janz said using salaried staff will incur no additional cost, and councilmembers framed the move as an effort to increase transparency and calm voter anxiety during the highly watched redistricting vote.