DOJ to monitor 5 Alaska voting jurisdictions
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Department of Justice will be monitoring compliance with federal voting rights laws in five Alaskan boroughs and census areas during Tuesday’s election.
Out of a total of 86 jurisdictions in 27 states nationwide, the Alaska jurisdictions to be monitored — from north to south — include the North Slope Borough, the Northwest Arctic Borough, the Kusilvak Census Area, the Bethel Census Area, and the Dillingham Census Area.
The effort is part of the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s responsibility to ensure compliance with all federal statutes that protect the right to vote as well as federal statutes prohibiting discriminatory interference with that right.
In a prepared statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said in part that, with the DOJ coordinating, “monitors will include Justice Department personnel, who will contact state and local election officials as needed throughout Election Day.”
According to the DOJ, its’ Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, and National Security Division (NSD) — along with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country — will be taking part in the Election Day efforts.
“Protecting the right to vote, prosecuting election crimes, and securing our elections are all essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government,” the DOJ wrote in a prepared statement. “The department encourages anyone with information regarding concerns in these subject areas to contact the appropriate authorities.”
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section is meant to enforce multiple federal statutes that protect the right to vote. Those include but are not limited to the Voting Rights Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
While the DOJ did not detail how many personnel would be deployed to election sites this year, the expansion of areas being monitored is a marked increase from 2020, during which — amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — 44 jurisdictions in 18 states were monitored, with that list excluding Alaska.
For the General Election in 2016, the DOJ sent about 500 people to 67 jurisdictions in 28 states — including Alaska — after sending 780 personnel to 51 jurisdictions in 23 states for the 2012 election, which, again, excluded Alaska, per DOJ records.
Disruptions at polling places should always be immediately reported to local election officials, and anything related to violence, threats or intimidation at a polling location should be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911. All complaints should also be reported to the DOJ, once local authorities have been contacted.
Along with the DOJ being present in each region being monitored, the Civil Rights Division will also be available throughout the day to receive questions, comments and complaints related to potential violations of federal voting rights laws.
To submit a comment or file a report, you can visit the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division website or call its toll-free phone line at (800) 253-3931. If you have a comment or complaint specific to the ADA, you can contact the DOJ’s ADA information hotline at (800) 514-0301 or (833) 610-1264, or send them via the department’s ADA website.
Along with early and absentee in-person options being available to Alaskans across the state, the approximately 610,000 registered voters — as recently recorded by the State of Alaska Division of Elections — also have the option to vote in person at polling places on General Election Day. Polls will be open for that from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2024.
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