The U.S. Justice Department has warned local election officials to watch for people pretending to be federal election monitors, days before Election Day. Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia said the county has not seen any impostors at its polling places so far.
Garcia said early in-person voting has gone smoothly at sites across Miami-Dade. She said the department has warned municipalities nationwide after reports that people in other places had claimed to be DOJ representatives. “They would never do that,” she said.
Broward County election officials told 7News they received a similar warning from the Justice Department. They also have not had any reported incidents involving impostors posing as monitors.
Federal monitors are allowed to observe polling activity but may not enter polling sites, according to Garcia. They must carry proper identification, and their job is to check that English and Spanish language requirements and nondiscrimination rules are followed. Garcia said poll workers have been trained to spot impostors.
South Florida has already seen one related case. Police said 46-year-old Danilo Alves Silva approached voters at a Kendall college campus during Brazil’s election earlier this month, posing as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. He was arrested.
Garcia said officers inside polling locations are there for security and traffic control, not to intimidate voters.
