By Kolby LaMarche

The U.S Justice Department plans to send two federal election monitors to Burlington on Election Day, placing the city among the communities facing increased federal scrutiny as the Trump administration prepares an unusually large nationwide monitoring operation for the November midterm elections.

The two monitors, who are expected to wear plain clothes, intend to visit all eight polling places in Burlington on Nov. 3, according to information provided to Vermont election officials by the department’s Civil Rights Division.

They have told state officials that they will identify themselves to the official in charge at each location, remain in designated areas and observe without interfering with voting.

The deployment appears to be one of the first times federal election monitors have been sent to Vermont, according to Bryan Mills, chief of staff to Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas.

It comes at a moment when the administration’s approach to election oversight has become a source of concern among voting-rights advocates and Democratic officials, even as the Justice Department says its monitors are intended to protect voters and ensure compliance with federal law.

The Justice Department has said it expects to deploy approximately 1,000 monitors nationwide, a substantial increase from previous midterm elections.

State officials have sought to strike a careful balance between acknowledging the federal government’s authority to monitor compliance with voting-rights laws and making clear that Vermont’s elections remain under state and local administration.

Copeland Hanzas, a Democrat, said the use of Justice Department monitors is not inherently unusual. Federal officials have historically sent personnel to observe elections, particularly to ensure that eligible voters are not improperly prevented from casting ballots.

But she also expressed uncertainty about what to expect from the program under the current administration.

“Given the shift in focus of this administration, we don’t know what to expect with respect to election monitors this time around,” she said during a joint appearance with Gov. Phil Scott earlier this week.

The state received its first notice of the federal plan on Oct. 22, when a senior Justice Department attorney sent an email outlining the department’s intentions.

State officials subsequently held a virtual meeting with department representatives to clarify the monitors’ activities and the limits of their access.

During that discussion, federal officials identified voting accessibility as their principal area of interest, Mills said.

That includes whether polling places accommodate voters with disabilities and whether people with visual or other impairments can cast ballots independently. Federal voting-rights protections also address language access.

The department’s written explanation emphasized that monitors would observe and take notes, not intervene in the voting process.

Mills said the state had no reason, based on the correspondence and discussions, to believe the monitors intended to disrupt the election.

Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, has said Vermont will protect its election process against any interference.

“From our standpoint, we will do everything in our power to protect the process and we will counter anything that comes up,” Scott said.

The arrival of federal monitors also comes after a contentious dispute between the Justice Department and the secretary of state’s office over access to sensitive voter information.

The department sued Copeland Hanzas last year after she declined to turn over certain voter data. That conflict has contributed to skepticism among some state officials about the administration’s broader intentions toward election oversight.

Democrat candidate for Vermont Senate Nikhil Goyal released a statement shortly after the news broke, saying “I’ll be at the polls Tuesday and will be closely observing the actions of these federal officials to ensure that all Vermonters can exercise their right to vote without fear.”

The department’s Civil Rights Division has traditionally sent attorneys and other staff members to observe polling places, document possible violations and report their findings. Such monitoring is intended to help enforce laws prohibiting discrimination and intimidation in voting.

But there are several different federal monitoring programs, and the distinctions matter. The Justice Department’s staff monitors are not the same as federal observers appointed under the Voting Rights Act.

The latter have special statutory authority to enter certain jurisdictions under court orders or legal agreements. Staff monitors, by contrast, generally must operate within the access permitted by state law and local election officials.

A September analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice stressed that Justice Department staff monitors do not possess special authority to interfere with election administration. They cannot order local officials to take action, handle ballots or disrupt the work of election workers. Their role is to observe and report.

That distinction has become especially important as the federal government expands its presence at polling places.

Voting-rights organizations have warned that a large federal deployment, even one officially described as nonintrusive, could create anxiety among voters or election workers if the limits of

The department, for its part, says its monitors are there to enforce the law, not to influence the outcome of elections.

The uncertainty has prompted state officials around the country to prepare for the possibility of confusion or disagreements over who may observe voting and what observers are permitted to do.

There is no specific or credible threat to Vermont’s election, the governor and secretary of state have said. Their public message has been one of preparation rather than alarm.

For Burlington, the political implications are particularly sensitive. The city is home to a large immigrant population and has been at the center of local debates about federal immigration

Vermont law allows members of the public, journalists and representatives of political or advocacy organizations to observe elections, subject to rules intended to preserve order and protect voters.

Representatives of candidates and political groups may also challenge a voter’s eligibility under specified procedures. But observers are not permitted to interfere with the orderly conduct of an election, and the presiding officer at each polling place has authority to maintain order.

The federal monitors will be subject to those rules, state officials have said. They are expected to identify themselves to local election officials and remain in designated observation areas.