Justice Department to monitor primary election in Arizona's Maricopa County

July 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department announced it will deploy staff to monitor Tuesday's primary election for Arizona's Maricopa County to ensure compliance with federal voting rights.

In a statement released Monday, the Justice Department said it is tasked with enforcing the "federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot."

While the Justice Department did not elaborate on why it was focusing on Maricopa County, the county elections officer reminded voters Monday to bring identification to the polls.

"Every voter is required to show proof of identity when voting in person," Maricopa County Elections office wrote in a post on X that also shows images of an Arizona driver's license, a tribal enrollment card or a government-issued ID.

Every voter is required to show proof of identity when voting in person. Visit https://t.co/gWcwmOJHVg to learn about acceptable forms of ID, so you can be prepared before heading to the polls for the Primary Election. #MaricopaCountyElections pic.twitter.com/h8Qj0iQNF7 — Maricopa County Elections (@MaricopaVote) July 29, 2024

Maricopa County is considered a battleground county that is vital to a candidate's chances in the state. Former President Donald Trump won the county and carried the state in 2016. President Joe Biden won Maricopa County and carried Arizona in 2020.

In April, four years after the 2020 election, a grand jury indicted eleven fake electors and seven Trump allies -- including former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani , former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump adviser John Eastman -- for attempting to overturn the election results.

The nine-count indictment accused the 18 Republicans of signing a false document, claiming to be the "duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president of the United States from the state of Arizona."

In May, Eastman pleaded not guilty to several Arizona conspiracy and forgery felonies in the alleged scheme.

While the Justice Department did not indicate Tuesday's monitoring has anything to do with the 2020 election, it did reveal it "regularly deploys staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country."

The department also said it "deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order."