CNN: Justice Department Dispatches Election Monitors

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Justice department dispatches election monitors
POSTED: 10:02 p.m. EST, November 6, 2006
From Justice Producer Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department Monday announced it has dispatched an army of election observers and monitors across the country to polling places where it sees a potential for discrimination or other voting rights violations.

After weeks of considering requests for a federal presence, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his Civil Rights Division lawyers decided to send 850 poll watchers to 69 jurisdictions in 22 states.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Wan Kim said the anticipated closeness of races would be one factor in making the final decisions on where to send observers. But in the end, few of the jurisdictions receiving federal scrutiny will be in states with heated Senate races.

Eight counties in South Dakota and five in Arizona with substantial Native American populations are on the list. In Arizona, Native Americans have warned of tensions in a race where there is debate over whether a Native American state senator endorsed a congressional candidate.

An official with the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights called the Justice Department's announcement Monday "a mixed bag."

"It seems they took some of our recommendations to heart," said attorney Julie Fernandez. "Our biggest disappointment is that they are not sending anyone to North Carolina or Alaska," she said. In Chatham County, North Carolina, there is a hotly contested referendum on county commission voting districts, which is opposed by black residents who have expressed fear of voter suppression tactics.

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