Seven Connecticut cities and towns are among the 67 jurisdictions in 28 states to be monitored on Election Day by the U.S. Justice Department, the agency announced.
The Connecticut municipalities are East Hartford, Farmington, Hartford, Middletown, New Britain, Newington, and West Hartford, the DOJ said Monday. The federal agency’s civil rights division plans to deploy more than 500 personnel on Tuesday to enforce federal voting laws.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement that the goal is to impartially “see to it” that every eligible voter exercises his or her right to vote. The DOJ said it has regularly monitored elections around the country since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Other states to be monitored include Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The department will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group and whether jurisdictions permit voters to receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter is blind, has a disability or is unable to read or write.
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will be available by telephone to receive complaints related to alleged violations at 800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767. Complainants who are hard of hearing or speech impaired can call 202-305-0082. Complaints can also be emailed to voting.section@usdoj.gov.
