FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AG

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2001

(202) 616-2777

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888

ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT ADDRESSES

MISSOURI VOTING ISSUES

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Based on concerns regarding the November 7, 2000 election, Congressman Lacy Clay (D-MO 1) requested the Department of Justice send federal observers to St. Louis, Missouri for the upcoming March 6 municipal primary election. Due to a technicality in the Voting Rights Act that specifies states where federal observers may be sent in these situations (the Act does not specify Missouri), the Civil Rights Division of the Department determined that no federal observers may be sent to St. Louis for the March 6 election. However, Attorney General John Ashcroft today issued the following statement about his decision to send two Department of Justice attorneys to St. Louis to monitor the March 6 election:

"I appreciate the concerns that Congressman Clay and others have expressed about the November 7 election in St. Louis and other locations around the country. In any case where there is a violation of someone's voting rights or voter fraud, the Department will take appropriate action with the objective of preventing future violations. Next week, we will send two attorneys from the Department of Justice to St. Louis to monitor the municipal primary election."

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