Justice Department to Monitor Election in Ohio

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that during the Sept. 8, 2009, municipal election in Cleveland, Ohio, it will monitor polling place activities for compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Attorneys from the Department’s Civil Rights Division will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. In calendar year 2008, for example, 1,060 federal observers and 344 Department personnel were sent to monitor 114 elections in 76 jurisdictions in 24 states.

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. More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm.