Justice Department Testifies in Senate Judiciary Committee on Voter Protection
Feature Story by Julian Wolfson - 10/1/2008
On September 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to see how the Justice Department is preparing for the 2008 election.
Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Justice Department is responsible for monitoring elections in certain counties or other jurisdictions to ensure that all eligible Americans are able to vote.
In his opening statement, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D. Md., said that he was encouraged by the large number of new voter registrations, but that he was also "gravely concerned" that "poor civil rights enforcement efforts at the Justice Department and numerous new election laws and rules on the books" would keep many eligible citizens from voting in November.
During the hearing, the committee asked witnesses from the Justice Department, Grace Chung Becker from the Civil Rights Division and Barry Sabin from the Criminal Division, what steps the department is taking ensure that eligible voters are not kept from voting.
Becker said that the department plans to continue their election monitoring program, sending hundreds of federal observers to polls on election day. On the day of the election there will be a toll-free hotline with translation services so that voters can report any problems voting. In addition, the department will work with state election agencies to ensure that all polling sites are operating in accordance with state and federal laws.
However, other witnesses expressed their concern with the Justice Department's plan. Having seen problems during the 2004 election cycle, election law specialist Gilda Daniels, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, provided the Justice Department with several recommendations, including:
- Sending letters to each state, providing them with an overview of federal voting rights statutes;
- Contacting states that have had problems in the past or that may be prone to violating voting rights laws;
- Meeting with voting rights advocacy groups to coordinate election monitoring efforts; and
- Providing federal election observers with training that focuses on voter access (making sure eligible people can vote) instead of voter fraud (keeping non-eligible people from voting).
Daniels also recommended that Congress require the Justice Department to implement a timeline on how to address these voting issues, and that the department should "establish a proactive plan" right away.
