Original article can be found here.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has deployed the “largest election monitoring effort” in U.S. history across all 50 states.
About 1,000 election monitors and observers pulled from the DOJ’s civil rights division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the Office of Personnel Management, among other federal agencies, are taking part in the Election Day effort. DOJ officials will remain in contact with state and local election officials throughout the process.
The voting section of the civil rights division enforces the federal statutes that protect the right to vote. These include the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and Civil Rights Acts. The DOJ also sent election monitors to several states during the primary elections, including Massachusetts, South Carolina, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Michigan. A complete list of the jurisdictions for DOJ monitors and observers in each state is available here.
Why It Matters
- Some states have documented instances of noncitizens getting on the voter rolls and potentially voting. The DOJ charges brought in New Jersey against Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, 24, a naturalized U.S. citizen from the Dominican Republic, could serve as a deterrent to further criminal activity. She has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and unlawfully procuring citizenship. Rosa was not a citizen when she registered to vote, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.
- As Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in the press release announcing the DOJ initiative, “Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division. I am very proud we are deploying the largest monitoring effort in DOJ history, and pursuing transparency for elections in an assertive and nondiscriminatory manner.”
- On Monday, the DOJ announced that it brought charges against 63 individuals for election-related crimes, including four illegal aliens, in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election crimes across the country. The cases include voting by aliens in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register to vote or to vote, and the fraudulent submission of a voter registration application in another state.
Take Action
- During Election Day, and throughout this week, DOJ civil rights division personnel can receive questions and complaints from the public related to federal voting rights laws. Anyone with a question or complaint should contact the DOJ’s election issues hotline at 1-800-253-3931, or send an email to [email protected], or submit a complaint to the DOJ website at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report.
- Restoration of America’s VoterRef.com site is a tremendous resource for average Americans. The site provides public access to government data on elections that includes voter registration rolls. The site is easy to navigate and can be searched on a state-by-state basis.
- Another critical tool available to ensure greater election integrity is the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which sets minimum standards for states to follow in their administration of elections. HAVA also created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help states operate in compliance with HAVA.
- Concerned citizens can speak out against the reckless actions of blue state governors like Mikie Sherrill (D) of New Jersey, who have resisted the DOJ’s efforts to clean up voter rolls.
The DOJ is maintaining nationwide enforcement actions to ensure ballot integrity in all 50 states beyond Election Day. An interactive map of these efforts is available here.
Comments