Justice Department sues Philadelphia over voting rights
Associated Press

Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 8:29 am

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it had filed a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia alleging violations of the rights of Hispanic and Spanish-speaking voters.

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleges that the city failed to provide Spanish-language assistance at the polls to most Spanish-speaking voters in recent elections, the department said.

Federal authorities also said the city prevented Spanish-speaking voters from receiving assistance from people of their choice, even in cases where bilingual assistance was otherwise unavailable.

Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement that federal officials hope to reach agreement with city officials quickly "to begin essential remedial measures in time for the 2006 federal elections."

City representatives did not immediately return a message left at an after-hours number.


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... 14009/1006