Voting Rights Act Betrayal: DOJ to Monitor Early Voting in Texas

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor portions of the early voting period for the Nov. 6, 2012, general election in Dallas and Harris Counties, Texas, to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

According to the DOJ, the Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.

Early voting in Dallas and Harris Counties begins on Monday, October 22. Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities during early voting in these two counties. Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.

The move comes after allegations of voting rights abuses in the two Texas counties. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

For more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws, visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php.

The Justice Department’s move is seen as a major victory for voting rights advocates, who have been vocal about the need for increased monitoring in the two Texas counties.

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