The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday that it is dispatching 780 department personnel and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management to monitor Tuesday’s elections in 51 jurisdictions around the country–including Queens, N.Y.
The department said that in following out its duties under the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act it intended to make certain that people with disabilities, people who can’t read or write, and people who don’t understand English have their voting rights protected.
“The observers and department personnel will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act,” DOJ said in a press release.
The Justice Department also said it will monitor the election in five jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and Allegheny, Lehigh, Delaware and Chester Counties.
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