United States v. State of Vermont (D. Vt.)

On October 10, 2008, the Department filed a complaint against the State of Vermont for violations of the Help America Vote Act Act. The complaint alleges that the State has failed to collect and the report information on the number of military voters and overseas citizens who are sent ballots, return them and have sucessfully cast ballots in each Federal general election.

United States v. Bolivar County, MS (N.D. Miss. 2008)

On February 15, 2008, the United States filed a complaint alleging that county officials violated Section 302(a) of the HAVA, by failing to establish a free access system for voters to ascertain whether their provisional ballots were counted during elections for Federal office. On February 27, the court entered the consent decree which provides procedures for the County to follow to ensure that voters who cast provisional ballots receive the required information about their ballots following the election.

United States v. Galveston County, TX (S.D. Tex. 2007)

On July 16, 2007, the United States filed a complaint against Galveston County under the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The complaint alleges that the County failed to provide provisional ballots to individuals eligible to vote, failed to post specific voting information at polling places and provide adequate instructions for mail-in registrants and first time voters. On July 20, 2007, the court entered the consent decree.

United States v. City of Philadelphia, PA (E.D. Pa. 2007)

On October 13, 2006, the United States filed a complaint against the City of Philadelphia, PA, under Sections 203 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act for failing to establish an effective Spanish bilingual program and for denying limited-English proficient voters their assistor of choice. On April 26, 2007, the United States filed an amended complaint, contemporaneously with the signing of a settlement agreement. The amended complaint further alleged violations of Sections 2 of the Voting Rights Act as the election system and procedures denied minority voters equal access to the election process, and 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act for its failure to provide election information to citizens educated in Spanish in American flag schools in Puerto Rico; violations of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 for failing to provide alternative-language information; and a violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 for failing to remove deceased voters from the rolls. The settlement agreement, among other things, requires the defendants to establish an effective bilingual program, including bilingual interpreters and alternative-language information; to allow limited-English proficient voters to utilize assistors of choice; to provide alternative-language information; and to undertake a program of voter list maintenance. On June 4, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered an order retaining jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement until July 1, 2009.

United States v. Cibola County  (D.N.M. 2007)

On January 31, 2007, the United States filed an amended complaint against Cibola County, New Mexico, to add claims under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The County violated HAVA by failing to ensure that provisional ballots were available and offered to Laguna and other voters and by failing to require indentification from certain first-time voters who registered by mail. Simultaneous with the filing of the amended complaint, the parties filed an amended joint stipulation in which the County agreed to remedy the NVRA and HAVA violations, as well as to extend the provisions of the prior joint stipulation. The court entered the amended joint stipulation on March 19, 2007. In the original complaint filed in 1993, the United States alleged that Cibola County had violated Sections 2 and 203 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to ensure that American Indians in the County have an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process, including those who rely on Keres and Navajo, American Indian languages that are historically unwritten. The parties initially resolved this case in 1994 through a stipulation and order that required the County to establish an effective Native American Election Information Program. The federal court had entered on May 3, 2004, an order approving a joint stipulation, which modified the original one and extended it through December 31, 2006.

United States v. State of New Jersey  (D.N.J. 2006)

On October 12, 2006, the Department filed a complaint against the State of New Jersey to enforce the requirements of HAVA. The complaint alleges that the State had not fully implemented its computerized statewide voter registration list for use in the upcoming federal election nor collected new voter applicant’s drivers’s license or social security numbers as required. Also, on October 12, 2006, a stipulation and order was approved by the federal district court requiring the State to fully implement the statewide voter registration list, collect the required identifiers for each new voter registration, and perform the requisite list maintenance.

United States v. Cochise County  (D. Ariz. 2006)

On June 16, 2006, the United States filed a complaint against Cochise County, Arizona, for violations of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The complaint alleges that Cochise County repeatedly failed to post certain information in polling places during federal elections, as required by HAVA. On October 12, 2006, the court entered a consent decree which requires the posting of HAVA-required materials in English and Spanish.

United States v. State of Maine,  (D. Me. 2006)

On July 28, 2006, the Department filed a complaint against the State of Maine alleging violations of HAVA the ensure full access to voting for disabled voters, requiring that each polling place have a voting system accessible to disabled voters. On August 14, the federal court approved a consent decree between the Department and the State.

United States v. State of Alabama  (M.D. Ala. 2006)

In this Action, the United alleged in its complaint that the State of Alabama and its chief elections office had not taken the actions necessary to achieve timely compliance with Sections 303(a) and 303(b) of the Help America Vote Act, includng implementing a uniform, official, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list, coordinating with necessary statewide agency databases and the Social Security Administration regarding the statewide voter registration list and failing to collect proscribed identification information from applicants for voting. The court ordered a special master to take control of the HAVA compliance process and required the State to remedy its HAVA violations by August 31, 2007.

United States v. State of New York  (N.D. N.Y. 2006)

On March 1, 2006, the Department filed a complaint against the State of New York to enforce requirements of HAVA. The complaint alleges that the State failed to comply with the requirements of the Act regarding voting system standards and a statewide voter registration database.

United States v. Westchester County (S.D. NY 2005)

In this action, the United States alleged it its complaint that the county had violated both Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to have an effective Spanish language election program and Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act by failing to post the information required by the section to be posted in polling places. On July 19, 2005, a consent decree resolving both claims was approved by a three-judge court. The decree would require the county to provide a Spanish language election program and assure compliance with the Help America Vote Act. On January 3, 2008, the consent decree was extended through December 31, 2008.

United States v. San Benito County (N.D. Cal. 2004)

In this action, the United States alleged in its complaint that the county had violated both Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to have an effective Spanish language election program and Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act by failing to post the information required by that section to be posted in polling places and by failing to provide the requisite written information regarding the process of casting a provisional ballot. The court entered a consent decree, requiring the county to provide a Spanish language election program. This consent decree expired on December 31, 2006.