Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) raised concerns at a State Canvassing Board meeting about the Justice Department's conduct while monitoring the state's Aug. 18 primary, calling the observers' behavior "a bit aggressive" and "irregular" and saying it exceeded the authority Congress gave them. Attorney General Keith Kautz, a gubernatorial appointee, is conducting a fact-finding investigation into the two DOJ Civil Rights Division attorneys deployed to Laramie County; Gordon said he is not alleging any outcome-altering effect or objecting to observers generally, only their conduct.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray said his office only received an email about the deployment, and defended the monitoring as consistent with state law. Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee said monitors lacked initial credentials, asked questions beyond federal voting-law scope, requested poll worker training materials and tabulator access, and unsuccessfully tried to interview voters, calling it "a poorly managed exercise." U.S. Attorney Darin Smith said monitors were sent to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal voting rights statutes. The DOJ deployed more than 80 monitors to over 200 sites across seven states this primary season, with plans to send roughly 1,000 monitors nationwide for November's midterms, drawing scrutiny over federal overreach.
