FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CR

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1998

(202) 616-2765

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888

FEDERAL OBSERVERS TO MONITOR LOCAL ELECTIONS IN FIVE STATES

Justice Department Warns Against Harassment of Minority Voters

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In order to preserve the integrity of the voting process and to prevent the intimidation of minority voters across the country, the Justice Department is sending 141 federal observers to five states for tomorrow's general election -- Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California and New York.

Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Americans to participate in the electoral process without discrimination, the Justice Department can send federal observers to counties that are specially covered under the Act.

"The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing our nation's voting laws," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "And we will not tolerate harassment of minority voters."

In the past week, the Justice Department also has received complaints that private citizens may go to polling places in predominantly minority areas in order to question, photograph or videotape voters. In response, the Justice Department sent out letters indicating that videotaping minority voters at or near the polls could constitute a violation of the Voting Rights Act. "Videotaping of minority voters could constitute a violation of Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Anita S. Hodgkiss in a series of letters last week. Section 11(b) outlaws the use of intimidation, threats, or coercion to prevent people from voting.

In Arizona, 40 federal observers will obtain information from polling locations in Apache and Navajo Counties to determine whether the counties are complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Under these provisions, certain jurisdictions must provide language interpreters to Native American voters, where necessary.

In New Mexico, 63 federal observers will monitor polling locations in Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Sandoval, and Socorro counties. Observers will determine whether these counties are complying with an Indian language program that was established through previously entered settlements for persons who speak the Navajo and Pueblo languages. The settlements resulted from lawsuits filed by the Justice Department under the minority language provisions of the Act.

Another 19 observers will monitor polling locations in San Juan County, Utah, to ensure that the county is in compliance with the law's requirement that voting information be provided in Navajo to Native Americans living in the county.

The Justice Department will dispatch 10 federal observers to polling locations in Alameda County, California, to ensure that Chinese language poll workers and materials are available to Chinese American voters. Under a settlement filed in 1996, the county agreed to provide oral translations and offer sample ballots in Chinese to voters requiring assistance.

Another 9 observers will be in New York City to determine if efforts to provide information and materials to Chinese language voters as prescribed under the Act are effective.

In addition, three attorneys from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be in Los Angeles and one attorney will be in Oakland to respond to any reports of intimidation of minority voters in Los Angeles, Orange and other counties in California.

The 141 observers, who are employees chosen and supervised by the Office of Personnel Management, will watch and record activities during voting hours at the polling locations and in some cases, during the counting of votes. Sixteen Justice Department attorneys will coordinate federal observer activities in the various counties.

In a statement issued last week, Reno said that every U.S. Attorney across the nation was working with the FBI to establish a special unit to receive reports of corrupt voting practices and to investigate citizens' complaints that their voting rights have been violated. Anyone who sees evidence of harassment or election fraud should contact the U.S. Attorney's office in their area, or the FBI, Reno added.

To lodge complaints about discriminatory voting practices, voters also can call the OPM federal examiner toll free at 1-888-496-9455, or the Civil Rights Division's Voting Section toll free number at 1-800-253-3931.

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