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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 7, 2011
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 7, 2011
Justice Department to Monitor Election in Maricopa County, Arizona
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on March 8, 2011, in Maricopa County, Ariz. 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. Maricopa County is required to provide assistance in the Spanish and O’odham languages.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Maricopa County based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in the county, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Maricopa County based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in the county, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.
11-286 DOJ - Civil Rights Division
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