- Federal Observers
- Election Monitoring
- How to Request Monitoring of an Election by the Civil Rights Division
- Termination of Federal Observer Assignment Activity
Federal Observers
The Voting Rights Act provides for the appointment of federal observers by order of a federal court pursuant to Section 3(a), or, with regard to political subdivisions covered under Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, upon the certification by the Attorney General, pursuant to Section 8 (previously Section 6). A total of 153 counties and parishes in 11 states have been certified by the Attorney General: Alabama (22 counties), Alaska (1) Arizona (4), Georgia (29), Louisiana (12), Mississippi (51), New York (3), North Carolina (1), South Carolina (11), South Dakota (1) and Texas (18).
Political subdivisions certified by the Attorney General for federal observers under the Voting Rights Act:
State
|
Subdivision
|
Date certified
|
---|---|---|
Alabama (22)
|
Autauga County | 10/30/65 |
Barbour County | 10/11/94 | |
Bullock County | 11/06/78 | |
Chambers County | 07/31/84 | |
Choctaw County | 06/01/66 | |
Conecuh County | 09/02/80 | |
Crenshaw County | 01/05/87 | |
Dallas County | 08/10/65 | |
Elmore County | 10/30/65 | |
Greene County | 10/30/65 | |
Hale County | 08/10/65 | |
Jefferson County | 01/22/66 | |
Lowndes County | 08/10/65 | |
Marengo County | 08/10/65 | |
Monroe County | 09/06/84 | |
Montgomery County | 10/02/65 | |
Perry County | 08/20/65 | |
Pickens County | 09/01/78 | |
Russell County | 09/25/78 | |
Sumter County | 05/03/66 | |
Talladega County | 11/04/74 | |
Wilcox County | 08/20/65 | |
Alaska (1)
|
Bethel Census Area | 10/06/09 |
Arizona (3)
|
Apache County | 11/04/86 |
Maricopa County | 03/07/11 | |
Navajo County | 11/04/86 | |
Yuma County | 02/26/91 | |
Georgia (29)
|
Baker County | 11/05/68 |
Baldwin County | 08/13/84 | |
Brooks County | 07/17/90 | |
Bulloch County | 08/01/80 | |
Burke County | 11/07/78 | |
Butts County | 08/31/82 | |
Calhoun County | 08/01/80 | |
Chattahoochee County | 08/13/84 | |
Early County | 08/01/80 | |
Hancock County | 11/08/66 | |
Jefferson County | 08/13/84 | |
Johnson County | 08/01/80 | |
Lee County | 03/28/67 | |
McIntosh County | 07/21/92 | |
Meriwether County | 08/06/76 | |
Mitchell County | 08/01/80 | |
Peach County | 11/04/72 | |
Pike County | 08/13/84 | |
Randolph County | 08/10/92 | |
Screven County | 03/28/67 | |
Stewart County | 08/06/76 | |
Sumter County | 08/01/80 | |
Talbot County | 08/09/88 | |
Taliaferro County | 11/05/68 | |
Telfair County | 08/01/80 | |
Terrell County | 03/28/67 | |
Tift County | 08/01/80 | |
Twiggs County | 09/03/74 | |
Worth County | 08/13/84 | |
Louisiana (12)
|
Bossier Parish | 03/28/67 |
Caddo Parish | 03/28/67 | |
De Soto Parish | 03/28/67 | |
East Carroll Parish | 08/10/65 | |
East Feliciana Parish | 08/10/65 | |
Madison Parish | 08/13/66 | |
Ouachita Parish | 08/20/65 | |
Plaquemines Parish | 08/10/65 | |
Sabine Parish | 10/01/74 | |
St. Helena Parish | 08/18/72 | |
Tensas Parish | 10/22/99 | |
West Feliciana Parish | 10/30/65 | |
Mississippi (51)
|
Adams County | 09/16/91 |
Amite County | 03/28/67 | |
Benton County | 09/28/65 | |
Bolivar County | 09/28/65 | |
Carroll County | 12/22/65 | |
Chickasaw County | 08/02/99 | |
Claiborne County | 04/14/66 | |
Clay County | 09/28/65 | |
Coahoma County | 09/28/65 | |
Copiah County | 12/13/83 | |
Covington County | 08/06/79 | |
De Soto County | 10/30/65 | |
Forrest County | 06/03/67 | |
Franklin County | 03/28/67 | |
Greene County | 08/06/79 | |
Grenada County | 07/22/66 | |
Hinds County | 10/30/65 | |
Holmes County | 10/30/65 | |
Humphreys County | 09/28/65 | |
Issaquena County | 06/03/67 | |
Jasper County | 04/14/66 | |
Jefferson County | 10/30/65 | |
Jefferson Davis County | 08/20/65 | |
Jones County | 08/20/65 | |
Kemper County | 11/04/74 | |
Leake County | 07/26/99 | |
Leflore County | 08/10/65 | |
Lowndes County | 08/23/83 | |
Madison County | 08/10/65 | |
Marshall County | 08/08/67 | |
Monroe County | 09/16/91 | |
Neshoba County | 10/31/65 | |
Newton County | 12/22/65 | |
Noxubee County | 04/14/66 | |
Oktibbeha County | 03/28/67 | |
Panola County | 07/22/11 | |
Pearl River County | 05/09/74 | |
Quitman County | 11/03/80 | |
Rankin County | 04/14/66 | |
Scott County | 05/20/93 | |
Sharkey County | 06/03/67 | |
Simpson County | 12/22/65 | |
Sunflower County | 05/02/67 | |
Tallahatchie County | 08/19/71 | |
Tunica County | 11/04/75 | |
Walthall County | 10/30/65 | |
Warren County | 12/22/65 | |
Washington County | 08/10/83 | |
Wilkinson County | 08/08/67 | |
Winston County | 04/14/66 | |
Yazoo County | 10/30/71 | |
New York (3)
|
Bronx County | 11/04/85 |
Kings County | 11/04/85 | |
New York County | 11/04/85 | |
North Carolina (1)
|
Edgecombe County | 05/07/84 |
South Carolina (11)
|
Bamberg County | 10/12/84 |
Calhoun County | 10/02/84 | |
Chester County | 06/12/90 | |
Clarendon County | 10/30/65 | |
Colleton County | 10/12/84 | |
Darlington County | 11/06/78 | |
Dorchester County | 10/30/65 | |
Hampton County | 10/12/84 | |
Marion County | 06/26/78 | |
Richland County | 10/02/84 | |
Williamsburg County | 10/02/84 | |
South Dakota (1)
|
Shannon County | 06/03/10 |
Texas (18)
|
Atascosa County | 11/03/80 |
Bee County | 11/01/76 | |
Crockett County | 08/11/78 | |
Dallas County | 04/06/84 | |
El Paso County | 11/06/78 | |
Fort Bend County | 04/30/76 | |
Frio County | 11/01/76 | |
Galveston County | 12/10/96 | |
Hildalgo County | 11/08/88 | |
Jefferson County | 12/10/96 | |
La Salle County | 11/01/76 | |
Medina County | 04/30/76 | |
Reeves County | 05/05/78 | |
Titus County | 11/01/02 | |
Uvalde County | 04/30/76 | |
Victoria County | 04/03/87 | |
Wilson County | 04/30/76 | |
Williamson County | 02/26/10 |
Pursuant to Section 3(a), federal observers are authorized by court order in 5 political subdivisions in 4 states are currently certified by federal court order: Alabama (1), California (1), Louisiana (1), and New York (2).
Political subdivisions that are eligible for federal observers as a result of court orders under the Voting Rights Act:
State
|
Subdivision
|
Terms
|
---|---|---|
Alabama | Evergereen (Conecuh County) | 1/13/14 order, effective until 12/21/20 |
California | Alameda | 10/19/11 order, effective until 3/30/17 |
Louisiana | St. Landry Parish | 12/5/79 order, effective "until further order of this Court" |
New York | Orange County | 4/24/12 order, effective through 1/31/17 |
Village of Port Chester (Westchester County) | 12/22/09 order, effective through 6/22/16 |
Election Monitoring
Section 8 of the Voting Rights Act, provides for the appointment of federal observers within political subdivisions certified by the Attorney General or by order of a federal court pursuant to the Voting Rights Act. The monitoring of elections by federal observers is an important aspect of the Voting Section's enforcement efforts. In some instances there are concerns about racial discrimination in the voting process; other times monitoring is done to ensure compliance with bilingual election procedures. The success of the federal observer program in consistently achieving both of these objectives is possible by the long-term commitment of the United States Office of Personnel Management to recruit, train, and supervise these federal employees, who serve as neutral and impartial observers of election-day procedures, and by cooperation and coordination with state and local election officials.
Sometimes, the Department learns of election-related problems that may appear to warrant the assignment of federal observers but there is insufficient time to either arrange for the assignment or to develop the factual predicate necessary for the certification of the political subdivision. In addition, such problems may occur in jurisdictions that are not eligible for such certification because they are not covered under Section 4. Finally, the Department may have information indicating potential violations of other federal voting laws. Under these circumstances, one or more attorneys may be assigned to monitor the election and maintain contact with state and local officials. Thus, from time to time attorneys have monitored elections either by telephone from Washington, D.C. or in person at the site of the election.
How to Request Monitoring of an Election by the Civil Rights Division
- Contact the Voting Section at:
Phone: 202-307-2767
Toll-free: 800-253-3931
Facsimile: 202-307-3961 - Provide specific and detailed information regarding the need for a federal presence, including:
- Any incidents of discrimination or interference with the right to vote in connection with upcoming or recent elections;
- Any complaints to local or state officials about the incidents and what, if anything, was done in response;
- Names and contact information for victims of discrimination or other violations of federal voting rights law;
- Names and contact information for any persons who have first-hand knowledge of the incidents;
- Names and contact information, if possible, for persons alleged to have engaged in discrimination or other violations of federal voting rights law;
- Locations where incidents have occurred.
- As much lead time as possible is important in order to permit pre-election investigations and to make logistical and staffing arrangements.
Termination of Federal Observer Assignment Authority
Section 13 of the Voting Rights Act sets forth the procedures by which a political subdivision where federal observers have been assigned due to certification by the Attorney General, may petition for the termination of such assignment authority. The Attorney General may terminate such assignment authority for a jurisdiction if:
- the Director of the Census has determined that more than 50% of the nonwhite persons of voting age are registered to vote and
- there is no longer reasonable cause to believe that persons will be deprived or denied the right to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in Section 4(f)(2) of the Voting Rights Act for language minority groups.
A political subdivision also may file an action for a declaratory judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that the federal observer assignment authority for the political subdivision should be terminated.
Any currently certified political subdivision that would like to submit a petition for termination of the federal observer assignment authority may contact the Voting Section:
Chief, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Room 7254 NWB
Washington, DC 20530
You can call, toll-free, at 800/253-3931.