The Justice Department will be on alert for voter fraud and attempts to block access to polling places during the midterm elections Tuesday. The department…
The Justice Department will be on alert for voter fraud and attempts to block access to polling places during the midterm elections Tuesday.
The department announced Monday it will send personnel from its Civil Rights Division to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states to monitor compliance with federal voting rights.
“This year, we are using every law tool that we have, both civil and criminal to protect the rights of millions of Americans to cast their vote unimpeded at one of more than 170,000 precincts across America,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
“Citizens of America control this country through their selection of their government officials at the ballot box,” Mr. Sessions said. “Likewise, fraud in the voting process will not be tolerated. Fraud also corrupts the integrity of the ballot.”
The Civil Rights Division staff will gather information on whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications because of their race, or if polling places provide access to voters with disabilities, among other concerns, according to the announcement.
The division has regularly monitored elections around the country since 1965, the Justice Department said.
In a tweet Monday, President Trump said law enforcement will be on the lookout for illegal voting.
“Law Enforcement has been strongly notified to watch closely for an ILLEGAL VOTING which may take place in Tuesday’s election (or Early Voting),” he tweeted.
It is not clear what Mr. Trump meant by “strongly notified.”
The president has repeatedly claimed voter fraud is major issue in elections, alleging that millions of votes were cast illegally in the 2016 elections. He formed a voter fraud commission last year to investigate that claim, but the commission was terminated after it failed to uncover evidence of significant voter fraud.
Voter fraud is a hot-button issue, but is also rare. A 2017 report by the Brennan Center for Justice found that the rate of voter fraud was between 0.0003 and 0.0025 percent. The report concluded that an American is more likely to be struck by lightning than attempt to impersonate someone else at the polls.
