DOJ to monitor Maricopa County's compliance with federal election laws during primary

The Department of Justice will be monitoring Arizona's compliance with federal election laws in the upcoming July 30 primary election in the swing state. Specifically, the DOJ will monitor activities going on in Maricopa County, Arizona.  

A press release from the DOJ on July 29 stated, "The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Maricopa County, Arizona, for the July 30 primary election." Arizona’s Tuesday election will see the primary races to replace Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as well as the races for multiple Congressional districts.

"The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order," the release added.  

The monitoring from the DOJ comes after there have been election interference questions raised in Maricopa County, Arizona, since there were large delays in the 2022 GOP primary election. Questions surrounding Dominion voting machines malfunctioning in the county have been raised as well. In 2022, as the midterm elections kicked off, voting machines malfunctioned, leading to poll workers informing voters that they were having trouble being able to vote.  

At the time, Kari Lake posted, "I am getting flooded with calls and text messages from people who are having trouble voting all over Maricopa County. THIS is why we must reform our elections." 

The GOP primary in Arizona for US Senate is taking place on July 30, and the candidates include Kari Lake, Matt Lamb, and Elizabeth Reye. GOP primaries for the US House of Representatives will also be taking place that day, along with other local elections.