WWW.USDOJ.GOV

FEDERAL OBSERVERS DISPATCHED TO MONITOR

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department will dispatch 25 federal observers to the town of Cicero, Ill. to monitor the municipal primary election on February 27, 2001.

Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Americans to participate in the electoral process without discrimination , the Justice Department is authorized to ask the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to areas that are covered by a court order. In this case, the U.S. District Court in Chicago authorized observers last October under an agreed stipulation and order between the Justice Department and the Cook County Clerk.

The observers, who are supervised by OPM, will watch and record activities during voting hours at select polling locations. Three Justice Department attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials. The federal observers will monitor the treatment of Hispanic voters to ensure that they have full and equal access to the voting process.

To lodge complaints about discriminatory voting practices in this election, voters may call the federal examiner at 1-888-496-9455. At all times, complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be called in to the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.