Protecting the Right to Vote and Prosecuting Ballot Fraud

In anticipation of the upcoming election, the department today (October 27) provided information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted, without incidence of discrimination, intimidation or fraud.

Civil Rights Division:

The Civil Rights Division is responsible for ensuring compliance with the civil provisions of federal laws that protect the right to vote, and with criminal law prohibiting discriminatory interference with that right.

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces civil provisions of federal laws that protect the right to vote including: the Voting Rights Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; and the Help America Vote Act. Among other things, these laws prohibit discrimination based on race or membership in a minority language group; prohibit intimidation of voters; provide that voters who need assistance in voting because of disability or illiteracy can obtain assistance from a person of their choice; require minority language election materials and assistance in certain jurisdictions; provide for accessible election machines for voters with disabilities; require provisional ballots for voters who assert they are eligible but whose names do not appear on poll books; provide for absentee ballots for service members and U.S. citizens living abroad; and require states to ensure that citizens can register at driver license offices, public assistance offices and other state agencies; and include requirements regarding maintaining voter registration lists.

The Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion. As it has in the past, on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010, the Civil Rights Division will implement a comprehensive program to help ensure ballot access that will include the following:

The Civil Rights Division will announce later this week which states will have federal personnel as election monitors and observers at polling places.

Civil Rights Division attorneys in both the Voting and Criminal Sections in Washington, D.C., will be ready to receive election-related complaints of potential violations relating to any of the statutes the Civil Rights Division enforces. Attorneys in the division will take appropriate action and will consult and coordinate with local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and with other entities within the Department of Justice concerning these complaints on and after Election Day, as appropriate.

Civil Rights Division staff will be available at special toll-free numbers to receive complaints related to ballot access (1-800-253-3931) (TTY line 1-877-267-8971). In addition, individuals can also report complaints, problems or concerns related to voting via the Internet. Forms may be submitted through a link on the department’s Web page: www.justice.gov/.

Criminal Division and the Department's 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices:

The Department’s Criminal Division oversees the enforcement of federal laws that criminalize voter fraud and protect the integrity of the federal election process.

The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the Department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for enforcing the federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election fraud, such as vote buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, destruction of ballots or registrations, voter intimidation, alteration of votes and malfeasance by election officials, as well as federal civil law prohibiting voter intimidation that does not involve discrimination or intimidation on grounds of race or color.

The department’s Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative requires that each of the department’s U.S. Attorneys’ Offices coordinate with state law enforcement and election officials before the federal general elections regarding the handling of election-related matters in their respective districts. In addition, the department provides annual training for the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) in their respective districts, which the department conducted this year on Aug. 31 and Sept.1. DEOs are responsible for overseeing potential election crime matters in their districts and coordinating with the department’s election crime experts in Washington, D.C.

On Nov. 2, 2010, these offices will work together and with the FBI to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible voter fraud are handled appropriately and expeditiously. Specifically:

* Federal prosecutors within the Public Integrity Section, the DEOs in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and special agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open to receive complaints from the public and take appropriate action.

* Public Integrity Section prosecutors will also be available to consult and coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI regarding the handling of election crime allegations.

Voter fraud complaints may be directed to any of the local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the local FBI offices or the Public Integrity Section (202-514-1412). A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Office can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/offices/index.html and a list of FBI offices can be found at: www.fbi.gov.

Both protecting the right to vote and combating voter fraud are essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our system of government.

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