Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRT
(202) 514-2008
TDD (202) 514-1888

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR ELECTION IN MISSISSIPPI


WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it will send federal observers and Civil Rights Division personnel to Monroe County in Mississippi to monitor the April 20 primary runoff election in the City of Aberdeen.

Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in the city of Aberdeen in Monroe County, Mississippi based on the special coverage provisions. Monroe County was originally certified for federal examiners by the Attorney General on September 16, 1991. Federal observers were last assigned to the county pursuant to this authority on August 24, 1999.

Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Americans to participate in the electoral process without discrimination, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to areas that are specially covered in the Act itself or by a federal court order under the Act.

The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at select polling locations in the city. Civil Rights Division personnel will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Department of Justice deploys hundreds of observers and attorneys to monitor elections across the country. During the 2003 election, and as part of the Attorney General's Voting Integrity/Ballot Access Initiative, the Division coordinated and sent 324 federal election observers and 108 Justice Department attorneys to 26 counties in 14 states to monitor the general election and ensure access to the polls. During the 2002 election, the Division coordinated and sent 608 observers and 221 monitors, a total of 829 individuals.

To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices in this election, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the federal examiner at 1-888-496-9455.

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

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