In 2012, the Justice Department had more than 780 election observers and monitors at polling places in 51 jurisdictions in 23 states. This election, they have many fewer thanks to the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling striking down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act. They're having to spread the 500 monitors over a larger swath of the country.
The U.S. Justice Department says it will have more than 500 monitors and observers out Tuesday watching polling sites in 28 states. They'll be looking for any voting rights violations, such as whether voters are discriminated against because of their race or language. […]
The change also means that of the 500 personnel, fewer DOJ personnel will be stationed inside polling places as official poll observers. Instead, more will be monitoring the election from outside, which gives federal authorities less opportunity to spot irregularities and correct them while individuals are voting.
The Justice poll watchers will be at "voting sites in 67 jurisdictions around the country, including many in Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Pennsylvania." In addition to the Justice poll observers, the Election Protection Coalition has 23 call centers set up around the country, and volunteers on hand (nearly 1,200 of whom are from the Daily Kos community!) to provide legal advice and intervention as necessary. They've already answered more than 50,000 calls since the hotline—1-800-OUR-VOTE—opened. "In addition to providing practical help-desk-level assistance to stressed and distressed voters, coalition officials said they are focused on constitutional obstacles."
They are all geared up for the first presidential election in 50 years without the protections of the Voting Rights Act, and the likelihood that the Trump campaign will have worked his deplorables into enough of a froth to create chaos at the polls.
If you see issues at the polls, the Justice Department will be taking complaints and dispatching help as necessary from a toll-free hotline, 1-800-253-3931, and by email at voting.section@usdoj.gov. The numbers for Election Protection and other voting rights groups:
- 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683)—English
- 888-Ve-Y-Vota (839-8682)—Spanish
- 888-API-Vote (274-8683)—Asian languages
- 844-418-4682—Arabic
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