The U.S. Attorneys Office will observe Election Day as part of a greater Department of Justice program to monitor voting rights abuses and election fraud across the country.
“Every citizen has the right to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted,” U.S. Attorney David Joseph said. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my office , the FBI or the Department’s Civil Rights Division.”
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting, may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. Local FBI field offices can be reached by the public in Shreveport at 318-861-1890, Monroe at 318-387-0773, Alexandria at 318-443-5097, Lafayette at 337-233-2164 and Lake Charles at 318-433-6353.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C., by phone at 1-800-253-3931 and 202-307-2767, fax at 202-307-3961, email to voting.section@usdoj.gov (link sends e-mail) or complaint form at www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.