The Trump Justice Department announced on Friday that it will monitor several polling sites in California and New Jersey ahead of the blue states' off-year Nov. 4 elections "to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law."The DOJ's Civil Rights Division will specifically deploy personnel to monitor polling sites in the California's Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties as well as in New Jersey's Passaic County.'We have received reports of irregularities in these counties that we fear will undermine either the willingness of voters to participate in the election or their confidence in the announced results.'"The Department of Justice will do everything necessary to protect the votes of eligible American citizens, ensuring our elections are safe and secure," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. "Transparent election processes and election monitoring are critical tools for safeguarding our elections and ensuring public trust in the integrity of our elections."In New Jersey, voters are set to decide who will replace Gov. Phil Murphy (D).It is presently a close race between Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, the former New Jersey assemblyman who fell short by fewer than four points in the 2021 gubernatorial race.According to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll, 50% of voters would have cast votes for Sherrill and 45% would have cast votes for Ciattarelli if the election were held this week.New Jersey Republicans recently asked the Justice Department in an Oct. 20 letter to dispatch Civil Rights Division personnel to monitor both the handling of vote-by-mail ballots and access to the Board of Elections in Passaic County, a historically Democratic stronghold that supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.RELATED: Corrupt Stacey Abrams groups once led by Sen. Raphael Warnock go extinct after admission of guilt Photo by Mario Tama/Getty ImagesThe New Jersey GOP stressed the urgency of such oversight, citing a "long and sordid history of [vote-by-mail ballot] fraud," a dearth of transparency, and an allegedly insufficient response to potential fraud by state officials.Concerns over potential mail-in voting improprieties appear to have heightened in recent years not only by the voter fraud scandal that marred a 2020 city council election in Paterson, the county's most populous city, but the alleged refusal by the county's Board of Elections to allow security cameras to monitor ballot storage areas.The California Republican Party similarly requested the DOJ's Civil Rights Division to provide monitors in five counties in the Golden State.'Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process.'Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the state GOP, said Monday in a letter to Dhillon, "In recent elections, we have received reports of irregularities in these counties that we fear will undermine either the willingness of voters to participate in the election or their confidence in the announced results of the election."Ensuring the integrity of the Nov. 4 election is all the more important because its result could impact future federal elections.In California, voters will decide on Proposition 50, a measure that would replace the state's current congressional map with a version that creates five new majority-Democrat districts.This redistricting scheme was championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and endorsed by former President Barack Obama after both men and multitudes of other Democrats spent weeks pearl-clutching about Texas Republicans' successful adoption of a new congressional map on Aug. 29.Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), among the critics of Proposition 50, told the Houston Chronicle, "It is very wrong what they’re trying to do in California. It is not at all serving the people. It is serving the party."While the DOJ regularly sends personnel to ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections across the country, Democrats in both blue states are fuming over the planned presence of Civil Rights Division monitors at poll sites in their upcoming elections."This is not a federal election. The U.S. DOJ has no business or basis to interfere with this election. This is solely about whether California amends our state constitution," Newsom's office stated on X. "This administration has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote."New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press that the move was "highly inappropriate" and suggested that the Justice Department "has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions."U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi noted, "Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity.""We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve," added Bondi.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

At least 25 states across the country will pause critical food aid programs for millions of Americans due to the Democrat-induced government shutdown. Dozens of states will issue notices to recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that they will not receive their government benefits on November 1. SNAP is notably the country's largest food assistance program, with over 41 million recipients. 'I choose country over party.'These crucial benefits are set to lapse exactly a month into the shutdown all because Democrats refuse to vote for a clean, nonpartisan resolution to keep the government funded. Instead, Democrats are insisting on passing their own hyper-partisan $1.5 trillion bill and renegotiating Obamacare subsidies even though they don't expire until the end of the year. "It’s becoming clearer by the day that Democrats don’t want an outcome, they want a political issue," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a post on X. RELATED: Democrat senator blocks vote to end shutdown to protest Trump's 'authoritarianism' in drawn-out rant Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images"They’ve refused to reopen the government – 12 times," Thune added. "They’ve refused my offer to discuss Obamacare’s failures. They’ve refused my offer to hold a vote on their own proposal to address a problem they created. They’ve refused to pay the troops and federal employees who are working without a paycheck. The only thing they’ve said yes to? The Schumer Shutdown and political 'leverage.'"Republicans have made multiple efforts to reopen the government, to pay federal workers, and to keep government programs afloat. Despite this, the majority of Democrats continue to stonewall their colleagues across the aisle and ultimately, the American people. However, not all Democrats have stuck with their party's position. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has largely made a name for himself by bucking his own party, and this shutdown fight is no exception. As the shutdown approaches the fourth week, Fetterman made it clear that he's interested in "country over party." RELATED: Senate Democrats senselessly block GOP bill that would pay workers during government shutdown Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images"Shut our government down and America loses," Fetterman said in a post on X. "2 MILLION Pennsylvanians depend on SNAP to feed their families. For me, it’s hungry Americans over party. Paying our military over party. Paying Capitol Police and federal workers over party. I choose country over party."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

It would be a colossal mistake for the president to glide into a war in South America for which he sought no public support or congressional buy-in.

Scott Jennings Shocked CNN Panel Doesn’t See Zohran Mamdani Pic With '93 WTC Attack Planner As a Red Flag

WaPo Headline on Senate Bill That Would Have Paid Federal Employees Avoids Mentioning Something

Mamdani: NYC’s Socialist Darling Rides High on Rent-Free Dreams, While America Gags on His Commie Gospel

RNC Research (and CNN) SINK Chuck Schumer's Talking Point on Karoline Leavitt's 'Trump Priority' Answer

Trump Reveals Anonymous Billionaire Has Stroked Huge Check to Pay Military During Schumer Shutdown

Schumer Shutdown Hits Day 24: Now House Votes Are Canceled

New: Majority of Californians Want Zero to Do With Newsom Running for President, Much Less Harris