U.S Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Arizona County
Published August 27, 2012
Fox News Latino
Phoenix – The Department of Justice says it will monitor primary elections in Arizona's Maricopa County -- home to controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a lightning rod for the country's contentious immigration debate.
The department said Monday that federal observers will be dispatched Tuesday to make sure that Maricopa County follows the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. That law prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.
Observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations.
Maricopa County officials, especially Sheriff Joe Arpaio, have come under fire for the treatment of Latino residents.
Arpaio is accused in federal court of ordering some patrols not based on reports of crime but rather on letters from people who complained about people with dark skin congregating in an area or speaking Spanish.
A civil lawsuit also alleges that his office racially profiled Latinos.
U.S Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Arizona County | Fox News Latino
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pr/2012/August/12-crt-1049.html
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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 27, 2012
Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Alabama and Arizona
The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on Aug. 28, 2012, in Lanett, Reform, and Phenix City, Ala., and Maricopa County, Ariz., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.
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 Lanett, Reform, Phenix City and Maricopa County based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these counties, and Civil Rights Division attorneys 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.
12-1049 Civil Rights Division
USDOJ: Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Alabama and Arizona