The Justice Department announced its Civil Rights Division will deploy personnel to 28 states to ensure federal voting right laws are followed and on the list is Lee County and Lehigh Acres polls.
The Fire union in Lehigh Acres has in the past intimidated voters but this year, the Justice Department will see firsthand.
While states and local governments bear the primary responsibility for administering elections, the Justice Department said the Civil Rights Division wants all citizens to have access to the ballot. The department will look for information if voters are subjected to different qualifications based on race or language and if voters with disabilities are allowed assistance by a person of their choice.
“The bedrock of our democracy is the right to vote,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “And the Department of Justice works tirelessly to uphold that right, not only on Election Day, but every day.”
Since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Justice Department regularly monitors elections around the country to protect the rights of voters.
“On Election Day itself, lawyers in the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section will staff a hotline starting in the early hours of the morning,” Lynch said. “We will continue to have a robust election monitors program in place on Election day. Our personnel will perform these duties impartially, with one goal in mind: to see to it that every eligible voter can participate in our elections to the full extent that federal law provides.”
The hotline manned by the Civil Rights Division is 1-800-253-3931. Complaints can also be emailed to voting.section@usdoj.gov and on the Justice Department’s website.