Federal monitors will be in metro Detroit looking for trouble at the polls Tuesday

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Clinton or Trump. Democrat or Republican. However you're voting, federal monitors will be in the area making sure your vote is protected.

In a complaint filed in federal court, Michigan Democrats accused Republicans of working with the Trump campaign to keep minorities in places like Detroit from voting. Republicans, however, deny that.

Both sides normally keep tabs on the election process - but the stakes are even higher in this contentious and controversial election.

Surrogates from both sides will be watching polling precincts closely.

"We're going to ensure that every Detroiter has the utmost privacy and election protection rights on Election Day," said Donnell White, NAACP.

White is the executive director for the Detroit branch of the NAACP, and says they're coordinating a statewide effort to protect voters and volunteers will have boots on the ground.

"Anyone that suppresses votes is not from the Republican party. The Republican party is not there to suppress the votes," Raczkowski said. "If there is someone there to suppress the votes, call the police."

Rocky Raczkowski will be keeping an eye on polling precincts for the Trump campaign and Michigan Republican party. He won't be alone.

The Department of Justice has 12 poll monitors in town to keep tabs on voting precincts in Detroit, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck for voter fraud and intimidation.

"I've heard urban legends of people who will be waiting in line and somebody will walk up looking very official with a clipboard who might say 'I hope everyone with child support has that paid off,'" US Attorney Barbara McQuade said. "That might cause someone to leave."

"Examples of fraud might be somebody impersonating a deceased voter, someone who is bribing a voter, paying them to vote a certain way."

FOX 2: "What are the consequences to doing that?"

"Criminal prosecution with criminal penalties is a possibility including imprisonment, but a whole range of things depending on the how egregious it is."

There are also concerns white nationalists groups will show up at polling precincts and try to keep minorities from voting.

"Whoever it is that decides they want to come to the city of Detroit and impede residents from voting, will be met with a team of volunteers who will be well organized both internally and externally," White said.

Detroit police will also have five officers assigned to every polling precinct in the city.

"We don't foresee that we will have any incidents of that nature," said Shanelle Williams, DPD. "But again we're asking the residents of the city to bring their patience and respect one another."

The US Attorneys Office has a voter hotline you can call if you run into problems at the polls.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. Tuesday to  8 p.m. -- and it's possible Michigan could decide this election.