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Two teams of election monitors deployed by the U.S. Department of Justice made their way through some of New Bedford’s precincts Tuesday to monitor voting practices, according to city officials.
The appearance of the federal observers has been the plan since officials announced it in July — when the Justice Department also asked for the city’s voter rolls. Mayor Jon Mitchell denied the request over concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s prior questioning of election results “without a good faith basis,” The Light reported.
While the monitors watched the polls, they were being watched themselves.
Marlene Pollock, longtime activist with the Coalition for Social Justice, was one of the organizers of the newly formed New Bedford Coalition to Protect the Vote — an effort to get eyes on voting locations to make sure there was no interference by federal monitors.
She had received “no reports whatsoever” of any federal monitors interfering with voters — a narrative shared by a handful of other poll watchers The Light spoke to throughout the day.
“It seems like the federal observers are very quiet and not doing anything that they shouldn’t be doing,” she said.
A group called the Election Protection Coalition deployed about 150 poll monitors in Boston, New Bedford, Lowell and Lawrence on Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts announced after the polls closed.
“Overall, from what we could see from our vantage points, the day went well,” the group said in a statement distributed by the state ACLU.
Who’s watching the watchers?
The Light caught up with one team of the federal observers at Hillside Court, the voting location for Ward 3, Precinct B, a working-class neighborhood of the city and home to many immigrants.
The women carried notebooks as they exited the polling station — and declined to answer questions when approached in the parking lot of Hillside Court by reporters.
Beth Kilanowich, the warden for the precinct, said the women were federal monitors and that they had taken notes and observed the proceedings. They had not interfered with any voters, she said.
They asked her several questions about what kind of assistance was available for Hispanic voters who were not proficient in English or who were disabled, Kilanowich said.
She said she explained to the observers that in the past the voters have mostly been bilingual.
“They asked what would we do if someone came in and just spoke Spanish,” Kilanowich said. “I explained that they usually bring someone with them. If not, we get someone from the Election Office (who speaks Spanish).”
Volunteer poll watchers were also on scene at Hillside. One was stationed inside the precinct to observe the federal monitors and the other was stationed outside to talk to voters.
Marla Cowden, also with the Coalition to Protect the Vote, said she had seen the two women who were purported to be from the Department of Justice.
New Bedford election data
The Justice Department announced in July that it would send federal election monitors to New Bedford and at least 14 other jurisdictions around the country during primary elections. The department also asked for the city’s voter lists.
In a letter sent to New Bedford Election Commissioner Manuel DeBrito, DOJ officials said the lists “will facilitate identification of voting precincts with [limited-English proficient] voters.”
Last month, Mitchell refused to provide federal officials with a list of the city’s registered voters, The Light reported.
Mitchell told The Light that he was “concerned that the Department’s inquiry is not designed to determine compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and is rather a pretext for unwarranted federal intrusion into a locally-administered election.”
A DOJ spokesperson told The Light the agency couldn’t confirm exactly how many monitors were in New Bedford on Tuesday and didn’t respond when asked why.
But multiple precinct wardens confirmed that they were told ahead of primary day that four federal monitors would be observing. Jonathan Darling, the city’s public information officer, also confirmed that number.
New Bedford voter data has been under scrutiny before. In 2024, a city attorney investigated claims including voting machines briefly shutting down or jamming, and insufficient Republican ballots during the March 2024 presidential primary, The Light reported.
The investigation found that nine voters were affected by brief interruptions, but ultimately were able to cast their ballots successfully.
Jack Spillane contributed to this report.
Nathan Collins is an investigative journalist and a Report for America corps member, covering the fishing industry, oceans and the blue economy. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions. Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@newbedfordlight.org.
