The U.S. Justice Department yesterday announced Fort Bend County will be one of five counties in Texas federal authorities will monitor in today’s primary election for compliance with minority language requirements of federal voting rights laws.
In addition to Fort Bend, federal officials will monitor elections in Galveston, Gonzales, Williamson and Wilson counties.
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires jurisdictions to provide language assistance in Spanish during the election process.
In addition, the counties must comply with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act, including requirements regarding provisional ballots, accessible voting equipment and information provided to voters.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to send federal observers to jurisdictions certified by the Attorney General or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Fort Bend, Galveston, Williamson and Wilson Counties based on the attorney general’s certification.
The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these jurisdictions, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
In addition, Fort Bend is subject to a court order from last year, which requires the jurisdiction to comply with the minority language and assistor of choice requirements of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the requirements of the Help America Vote Act.
Galveston County is subject to a similar court order from 2007.
Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Gonzales County, Texas. A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers to monitor elections across the country.
To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
