Jay Ashcroft Sues to Block US Election Monitors in St. Louis

The election commission’s 2021 settlement agreement with the Justice Department was aimed at ensuring people with mobility and vision impairments can access polling places after federal officials found problems such as ramps that were too steep and parking lots inaccessible, according to court documents.

The agreement, which expires next year, says the council must “cooperate fully” with the Justice Department’s efforts to monitor compliance, “including but not limited to providing the United States with timely access to polling places (including on election day)”.

Denise Liebermanattorney and director of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, dismissed the lawsuit in a statement Monday afternoon.

“DOJ has a long history of monitoring federal elections under both Republican and Democratic administrations to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws,” she said.

“The secretary of state should focus on making sure Missouri elections are accessible to all, rather than wasting taxpayer dollars to prevent federal monitors from doing their job of ensuring compliance with federal laws,” she said.

It’s not the first time Ashcroft has resisted federal poll watchers. A similar situation occurred in Cole County in 2022.

That year, Ashcroft’s office sent out a press release saying the Justice Department had been told it did not have the authority or jurisdiction to be present at a polling place unless invited by the local election authority.

This year, Ashcroft’s office said the Justice Department was reaching out to local officials. Ashcroft criticized the move on Monday, saying the department was “trying to go through the back door” in communicating with local authorities.

“Two years ago, we met with the DOJ. I showed them the law and explained that they have no jurisdiction to interfere in Missouri elections,” Ashcroft said in a statement.

“Now they are doing the same thing; trying to get through the back door by contacting local election officials and making bogus jurisdictional requests for access rather than contacting my office directly,” Ashcroft said.

In its press release Friday, the Justice Department said the Civil Rights Division is coordinating the monitoring effort. He said the division’s Voting Rights Section enforces laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the Absentee Citizens in Uniform and Overseas Voting Act.

The division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that people with disabilities “have a full and equal opportunity to vote,” the news release said.

Election monitors are lawyers who work for the Department of Justice, including the civil rights division and U.S. attorney’s offices across the country. They are not law enforcement officers or federal agents.

For decades, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has sent lawyers and staff members to monitor polling places across the country in both federal and non-federal elections. Monitors are tasked with ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Updated Monday at 20:56.