The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) deployed approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The effort marks the largest monitoring operation in the department's history, according to a DOJ press release.

California is among the states where the DOJ said it intends to monitor or observe. The department did not specify which California counties would receive monitors.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division called election integrity "one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division." She said the DOJ is "pursuing transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner."

The deployment drew a legal challenge. The NAACP, Advancement Project and the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed an emergency motion in the case NAACP v. Blanche to block federal law enforcement agents from serving as poll monitors. A federal judge partially sided with the groups, according to a NAACP LDF press release.

The court ordered the DOJ to confirm that no agents with arresting authority would serve at polling sites. The DOJ then acknowledged that personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service had been scheduled for deployment, the NAACP LDF said.

Supreme Court rejects California ballot case

Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 2 rejected the Trump administration's request to force California to set aside about 20,000 mail-in ballots the administration alleged could be from noncitizens, NBC News reported. The court issued a brief order without explanation and without any noted dissents.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the decision "should put an end to the administration's attempt to disrupt California's elections through emergency court orders."

The ruling came after U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter found the administration's efforts were likely unconstitutional, and a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected the claims, CalMatters reported.

California officials had resisted the DOJ's intervention, noting it is already illegal under state law for noncitizens to vote, according to NBC News.

What's on the ballot locally

Voters across the Sacramento region headed to polls with several high-profile contests on the ballot. In Congressional District 6, which includes parts of the Folsom and El Dorado Hills area, Rep. Kevin Kiley faces Dr. Richard Pan, according to Abridged by PBS KVIE.

El Dorado County voters are deciding Measure S, a proposed 30-year, three-eighths-cent sales tax increase. The measure would generate an estimated $13 million per year for hospital improvements, emergency response and wildfire prevention, the Sacramento Bee reported. Half the revenue would go to eligible hospitals, 45% to fire agencies and 5% to nonprofits doing wildfire-prevention work.

Statewide, voters are choosing a new governor. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are competing to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited, according to CBS News Sacramento.

Polls close at 8 p.m. Voters in line by that time will be allowed to cast their ballots. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and sinreceived by county elections offices by Nov. 10.