FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1999 (202) 616-2765 WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888 FEDERAL OFFICIALS DISPATCHED TO MONITOR NEW MEXICO ELECTIONS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an effort to preserve the integrity of the voting process, the
Justice Department will dispatch 7 federal officials to monitor Tuesday's school board election
for the Cuba Independent School District in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Americans to participate in the
electoral process, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the Office of Personnel
Management to send federal observers to areas that are specially covered in the Act. In 1990, following a Justice Department suit, Sandoval County entered into an agreement
requiring it to provide assistance to Native Americans. Seven observers will monitor polling
places to ensure that the county is properly providing effective language assistance to Native
Americans at the polls during the school board election as requested by the agreement. The observers, who speak the Navajo language and are supervised by OPM, will watch
and record activities during voting hours at the polling locations. One Justice Department
attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials. To lodge complaints about discriminatory voting practices, voters may call the Voting
Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931. 99-041