Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRT
(202) 514-2008
TDD (202) 514-1888

FEDERAL OBSERVERS TO MONITOR ELECTION IN PENNSYLVANIA


WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it will send federal observers and Civil Rights Division personnel to Berks County in Pennsylvania to monitor the treatment of Hispanic voters in the April 27th federal and state primary election in the city of Reading.

Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Reading pursuant to the August 20, 2003 order entered by Judge Baylson of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in a voting rights lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Berks County, United States v. Berks County, et al., Civil Action No. 03-1030 (E.D. Pa.). The court's order, among other things, requires that the county provide written election materials in English and Spanish for elections held in Reading. Federal observers were last assigned to Reading on November 4, 2003.

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.

The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at select polling locations in the city. Civil Rights Division personnel, who also are authorized to enter polling places under the court's order, will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials. The federal observers will monitor the treatment of Hispanic and other voters to ensure that they have full and equal access to the voting process.

Each year, the Department of Justice deploys hundreds of observers and attorneys to monitor elections across the country. During 2003, the Division coordinated and sent 380 federal observers and 126 Justice Department monitors for a total of 506 individuals. During 2002, 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. At all times, complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be called in to 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 website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting. <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting.>

###

04-273