The Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to Franklin County and two other Ohio counties on Nov. 3.
It's part of a large-scale effort by the DOJ, which previously said its goal was to send out 1,000 election monitors in all 50 states.
While it's been more than a decade since DOJ election monitors came to Franklin County, Board of Elections Director Antone White said election monitoring is "not unusual."
"I mean, voters should expect people to observe the elections. We're transparent. You're going to see political party observers. You're gonna see members of the media observing," White told Amy Juravich during a Thursday episode of All Sides.
White said he isn't sure which of Franklin County's 298 polling locations the DOJ monitors will visit, but they will not be allowed inside to observe voting.
"They are not permitted inside. They are permitted to observe from outside behind the 100-foot campaign barrier," White said.
The observers may go unnoticed by most voters. White expects them to be dressed in plain clothes, though he said they will likely carry credentials.
The DOJ election monitors, like other nonpartisan and citizen election monitors, are not allowed to interfere in the voting process and have no authority at the polls.
White said the observers are there to see if polling locations are accessible and adhering to federal voting rights laws.
"Voters should feel confident that they can go to the polling location on Election Day, cast their ballot and not have any problems or concerns," White said.
White did not know why the DOJ chose Franklin County as part of its monitoring efforts. He suggested that it could be because it's the state's most populous county.
A senior official at the DOJ told PBS that the agency plans to focus on "high population areas," and areas that have had problems with language and disability access.
Meanwhile, with early voting still underway, White said that as of Wednesday, almost 73,000 Franklin County residents had already cast their ballots. About 83,000 people requested mail-in ballots by Tuesday's deadline.
