The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Union County, New Jersey, for the June 4 primary election.
Federal observers will be assigned to monitor the election in Union County to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act. In 2023, a federal court approved a consent decree to resolve the department’s claims under Sections 203 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act regarding the availability of election assistance and materials in Spanish for Spanish-speaking voters with limited English proficiency in Union County. Section 203 requires certain jurisdictions, including Union County, to provide election materials and assistance in other languages besides English. Section 208 provides a right for voters who need assistance with voting—due to inability to read or write, blindness, or disability—to receive that assistance from a person of their choice, with certain limited exceptions. The consent decree authorizes federal observers to monitor Election Day activities in the county’s polling places.
The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor compliance with federal civil rights laws during elections across the country. Additionally, it deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management when authorized by a federal court order.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote. These include the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Acts, and Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about voting and elections is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/voting. Information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
Individuals may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey at www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement or by telephone at 1-855-281-3339.