The U.S. Department of Justice deployed federal election monitors to Fairfax County on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as part of what the agency called its largest monitoring effort in history.

Approximately 1,000 monitors and observers fanned out across all 50 states for the first time, according to a DOJ announcement. The effort is coordinated by the department's Civil Rights Division.

In Virginia, the DOJ listed four jurisdictions for Election Day monitoring: Fairfax County, Prince William County, Charlottesville and Virginia Beach, the Virginia Mercury reported. The DOJ did not specify how many monitors would be assigned to Virginia.

"I am very proud we are deploying the largest monitoring effort in DOJ history, and pursuing transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in the announcement.

The monitors will check compliance with federal voting rights laws, including protections against voter intimidation and discrimination and requirements for voters with disabilities, according to the DOJ.

Local reaction split along party lines

The deployment drew sharply different responses in Fairfax County.

The Fairfax County Republican Committee said it "welcomes the presence of election monitors," according to FFXnow. Fairfax GOP Chair Katie Gorka said the party had been "flagging concerns about known and potential non-citizen voting" for years.

"Given these many issues, we welcome the presence of election monitors and feel that they will help ensure confidence in Virginia's electoral process," Gorka said.

Some voting rights groups, including the NAACP, said they believe the deployment could suppress turnout, particularly among minority voters, USA Today reported. On Nov. 1, the NAACP asked a court for a temporary restraining order to block federal law enforcement agents from serving as monitors, the Virginia Mercury reported.

"The law is clear — law enforcement agents can have an intimidating effect on voters, especially Black voters, and they have no role and no right to be inside our polling places," NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

The DOJ said in a court filing that monitors are not allowed to carry firearms, must dress in business casual clothing and have been instructed not to interfere with voting.

Virginia officials prepared for federal presence

Virginia Elections Commissioner Steve Koski, appointed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, said state and local officials had prepared for the federal presence. According to Koski, DOJ monitors must follow the same state rules as neutral observers, VPM News reported.

"They have the ability to see and hear what is occurring in the polling location, and it's limited to that," Koski told VPM News. "They don't have the right to speak to voters or to officers of election, or to roam around the polling location."

On Oct. 15, the Virginia Department of Elections and Attorney General Jay Jones' office issued a joint bulletin explaining how local officials should handle federal monitors. Observers cannot photograph inside polling places, handle sensitive election materials or position themselves where they can see a voter's marked ballot.

Nearby Prince William County took a harder line. Elections director Eric Olsen refused to allow federal observers inside polling places, accusing DOJ officials of making threats that create safety concerns for election workers, VPM News reported. Axios reported the DOJ said it would still send monitors to observe from outside.

Whether Fairfax County's electoral board formally approved or denied DOJ monitors' entry into its polling places was not addressed in available reports.

Voters with questions or complaints about federal voting rights can call the DOJ's election hotline at 1-800-253-3931.