FEDERAL OBSERVERS TO MONITOR ELECTION IN PENNSYLVANIA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it will send 101 federal observers to monitor the May 20, 2003 municipal and county primary election in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Under the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of all Americans to participate in the electionion process without discrimination or intimidation, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to areas that are covered by a federal court order. Judge Michael M. Baylson, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, entered such an order on March 18, 2003 in a voting rights lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Berks County (United States v. Berks County, et al.). The court's order also requires that the county provide written election materials in English and Spanish, as well as assign poll workers who are bilingual in English and Spanish to certain polling places during Election Day.

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

To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices in this election, including acts of harassment or intimidation, 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.

More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting.>.

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