PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — The US Department of Justice is sending election observers to 27 states, including Arizona, for the November elections.

In Arizona, federal staff will monitor compliance with voting and civil rights laws in Apache, Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties.

Monitors will include staff from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, US Attorneys’ offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management. These employees will be tasked with contacting state and local election officials throughout Election Day.

On Election Day, the Civil Rights Division will respond to questions and concerns about possible violations of federal law. These can be submitted online or calling them directly.

In total, 86 jurisdictions are to be monitored. According to the Washington Post, GOP lawmakers in Missouri and Florida are working to block DOJ from polling places.

In Texas, a the secretary of state’s spokesman told CNN that federal monitors are not allowed inside polling stations.

In 2020, the feds monitored three Arizona counties: Coconino, Maricopa and Navajo, but then sent observers to only 18 states. The Washington Post reports that the number in 2024 is the highest in two decades.

Election security was top of mind for many, following polarizing political rhetoric, concerns about election security and growing threats of political violence.

Earlier this week, Maricopa County election officials joined law enforcement to discuss efforts to protect polling places, workers and the integrity and security of ballots in the wake of apparent political violence.

In recent weeks, A Valley man intentionally sets U.S. Postal Service mailbox on fire in downtown Phoenix. While the suspect said his actions were not politically motivated, more than a dozen ballots were damaged in the fire, authorities said.

In Oregon, hundreds of ballots were damaged after a box was lit on two separate occasions.

Hacking a local election system in the United States would not be easy and secretly altering votes on a scale massive enough to change the outcome of the presidential race. it would be impossibleelection officials said, thanks to decentralized systems, paper records for nearly all ballots, exhaustive reviews, due process of law and decades of work by election officials, volunteers and American citizens.

Foreign actors and domestic extremist groups that want to interfere next week’s elections it can target a much weaker link: voters’ perceptions and emotions.

Those intent on undermining faith in American democracy need not change a single vote if they can convince enough Americans do not trust the result.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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