From: USDOJ-Office of Public Affairs (SMO) (JMD)
Sent: Friday, November 02,
2012 2:33 PM
To: USDOJ-Office of Public
Affairs (SMO) (JMD)
Subject: JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR POLLS IN 23 STATES ON ELECTION DAY
________________________________________________________________________
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CRT
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2,
2012
(202) 514-2007
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR POLLS IN 23 STATES
ON ELECTION DAY
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that its Civil
Rights Division plans to deploy more than 780 federal observers and department personnel to 51 jurisdictions in 23 states
for the Nov. 6, 2012, general election.
Although state and local governments have primary responsibility for
administering elections, the Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing
the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to
access the ballot on Election Day.
In the days
leading up to and throughout Election Day, Civil Rights Division staff members
will be available by telephone to receive complaints related to possible
violations of the federal voting rights laws (toll
free 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767 or TTY 1-877-267-8971).
In addition, individuals may also report such complaints
by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov and by a complaint form on the
department’s website: www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.
Allegations
of election fraud are handled by the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the
country and the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Complaints
may be directed to any of the local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the local FBI
offices or the Public Integrity Section at 202-514-1412.
Since the
passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the department has regularly sent observers and
monitors around the country to protect the rights of voters. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in
the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority
language group. In addition, the act requires certain covered
jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the department is authorized to ask the Office of
Personnel Management to send federal observers to areas that have been
certified for coverage by a federal court or the attorney general. The
department also may send its own staff to monitor elections in other
jurisdictions.
On Election Day, federal observers will monitor polling place activities in
17 jurisdictions:
- Russell
County, Ala.;
- Maricopa
County, Ariz.;
- Alameda County, Calif.;
- Riverside County, Calif.;
- Randolph County, Ga.;
- East Carroll Parish, La.;
- Panola County, Miss.;
- Colfax County, Neb.;
- Sandoval County, N.M.;
- Orange County, N.Y.;
- Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
- Lorain County, Ohio;
- Williamsburg County, S.C.;
- Shannon County; S.D.;
- Dallas County, Texas;
- Fort Bend County, Texas; and
- Jefferson County, Texas.
Justice Department personnel will monitor the election in an additional 34
jurisdictions:
- Mobile County, Ala.;
- Pima
County, Ariz.;
- Arapahoe
County, Colo.;
- Denver;
- Duval County, Fla.;
- Hendry County, Fla.;
- Hillsborough County, Fla.;
- Lee County, Fla.;
- Miami-Dade County, Fla.;
- Orange County, Fla.;
- Osceola County, Fla.;
- Chicago
& Cook County, Ill.;
- LaPorte County, Ind.;
- Finney
County, Kan.;
- Detroit & Hamtramck, Mich.;
- Alamance County, N.C.;
- Wake County, N.C.;
- Bernalillo County, N.M.;
- Cibola County, N.M.;
- Queens County, N.Y.;
- Franklin County, Ohio;
- Hamilton County, Ohio;
- Allegheny County, Pa.;
- Chester County, Pa.;
- Delaware County, Pa.;
- Lehigh County, Pa.;
- Philadelphia;
- Richland County, S.C.;
- Davidson County, Tenn.;
- Shelby County, Tenn.;
- Harris County, Texas; and
- Milwaukee
The observers and department personnel will gather information on, among other
things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or
procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority
group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the minority language
provisions of the Voting Rights Act; whether jurisdictions permit voters to
receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter is blind, has
a disability, or is unable to read or write; whether jurisdictions allow voters
with disabilities to cast a private and
independent ballot; whether jurisdictions comply with the voter registration list
requirements of the National Voter Registration Act; and whether jurisdictions
comply with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote
Act. To assist in these inquiries, the
department has deployed observers and monitors who speak Spanish and a variety
of Asian and Native American languages. Both the federal observers and
department personnel will coordinate monitoring activities, and department
attorneys maintain contact with local election officials.
Last month, the Justice Department
announced efforts to ensure that all qualified
voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted
free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other
federal voting and election-related laws is available on the Civil Rights
Division’s website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting.
12-1312
DO
NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE CONTACTS
IN THE MESSAGE OR CALL THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT 202-514-2007.
--
###
That's right. In the final weeks of this
election, Ohio Secretary of State Husted authorized the installation of a
"software patch" that has never been publicly evaluated.
This tampering with Ohio voting machines is a violation of federal law. And it
is deeply troubling.
