Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws in Alaska

 

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in the State of Alaska, for the Oct. 1 Regional Education Attendance Area (REAA) elections. The department will monitor in the Bethel Dillingham and Kusilvak Census Areas, as well as the Northwest Arctic and North Slope Boroughs.

The Justice Department will assign federal observers to monitor the election in the Dillingham and Kusilvak Census Areas to observe compliance with the Voting Rights Act. A federal court previously issued an order to resolve claims under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act regarding the rights of Yup’ik-speaking voters. The order authorizes federal observers to monitor election day activities in these two census areas. The department is also sending its staff to monitor compliance in the Bethel Census Area, Northwest Arctic Borough and North Slope Borough, Alaska.

The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities across the country. In addition, the department also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, when authorized by federal court order.

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Acts and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

More information about voting and elections is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Information on the language requirements of Section 203 of the Voting Rights and about voting rights generally is available in Yup’ik on the department’s website. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.