US Senate Democrats said Wednesday they had recruited and trained more than 100 congressional staffers to monitor voting and ballot counting in November's midterm elections, citing fears of interference by President Donald Trump's administration.
The observers will be deployed across nine states with closely contested Senate races, including Ohio, Georgia and Michigan, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Alex Padilla told reporters.
Their mission will be to document possible voter intimidation, threats against election workers and other irregularities, including during the counting and certification of ballots after the November 3 vote.
"Their role is very clear: to observe, to document, and report the facts," Schumer said.
The initiative comes amid growing concern among Democrats and civil rights groups over Trump's repeated allegations of election fraud and his refusal to rule out extraordinary federal intervention around polling places.
"Donald Trump does not get to decide who votes. He doesn't get to decide which votes count," Schumer said.
Padilla, the senior Democrat on the Senate committee overseeing election rules, said the observers could remain deployed for days or even weeks after the election if necessary.
"I don't put anything past the Trump administration to try to interfere with the election," he said, warning that Democrats were preparing for possible challenges to the results.
The president has sought restrictions on mail-in voting and tougher proof-of-citizenship requirements, while his administration has pursued access to state voter records.
The Justice Department says its election monitoring efforts are intended to ensure compliance with voting laws and protect election integrity.
Padilla stressed that the new Senate observers would have no role in administering elections or handling ballots.
"They're not there to interfere. They're not there to cause a scene," he said.
The program, announced earlier this year, is an official congressional initiative rather than a campaign operation.
Padilla said Democrats hoped to deploy observers alongside Republican Senate staff where possible, following the example of a longstanding House of Representatives program.
The effort comes as civil rights groups pursue their own election-protection initiatives, including Vote Safe, which has begun deploying trained community volunteers to polling locations in several battleground states.
Its organizers say their volunteers will help voters understand their rights, document possible intimidation and provide reassurance amid fears of immigration enforcement activity near polling places.
Schumer insisted American elections remained safe and safe and secure, saying the Democrats' preparations were intended to keep them that way.