JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR ELECTIONS
IN NEW JERSEY AND SOUTH CAROLINA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor the June 8 primary elections in Passaic County, New Jersey, and in Charleston and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Passaic County, New Jersey pursuant to a federal court order authorizing their assignment. Passaic County has an obligation under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act to provide election material, such as ballots and other information, in Spanish as well as in English.

In Charleston County, South Carolina, Civil Rights Division attorneys will monitor the implementation of a new districting plan. The new districting plan replaces an at-large method of electing the Charleston City Council. A federal court found that the former method violated the Voting Rights Act, following a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department.

In Dorchester County, South Carolina, Civil Rights Division attorneys will seek to ensure that the right of voters under state law to participate in the primary of their choice is not denied on the basis of their race.

Each year, the Department of Justice deploys hundreds of observers and attorneys to monitor elections across the country. In 2002, the Division coordinated and sent 608 federal observers and 221 Justice Department personnel to 40 counties in 17 states to monitor 60 elections and ensure access to the polls. In 2003, the Division coordinated and sent 380 federal observers and 136 Department personnel to monitor 42 elections in 26 political subdivisions in 14 states.

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