DOJ Monitoring Compliance with Voting Rights Laws

The Justice Department has announced its plans for monitoring compliance with voting rights laws for election day.

Personnel from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and US Attorneys’ Offices will be present in 64 voting jurisdictions around the country, including 5 in Michigan. Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac and Southfield all made the list. According to the DOJ, The Civil Rights Division has monitored elections in the field since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure compliance with several laws protecting the right to vote including the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Acts.

In addition to field monitoring, the Civil Rights Division will be available to receive complaints related to possible violations of federal voting rights laws through their website, civilrights.justice.gov, or over the phone at 800-253-3931. The Justice Department says complaints related to disruption at the polling place should be reported first to local election officials, and complaints related to violence or intimidation should be reported to police before the Civil Rights Division.