Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws in Rhode Island

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in the City of Pawtucket (in Providence County), Rhode Island, for the Sept. 10 primary election.

The Justice Department will assign federal observers to monitor the election in the City of Pawtucket to observe the county’s compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Earlier this year, a federal court approved a consent decree to resolve the department’s claims under Sections 203 of the Voting Rights Act regarding the availability of election assistance and materials in Spanish for Spanish-speaking voters with limited English proficiency in the City of Pawtucket. Section 203 requires that certain jurisdictions, including Pawtucket, provide election materials and assistance in other languages, in addition to English. The decree also addresses a claim under Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act. Section 302 requires jurisdictions to provide provisional ballots during federal elections. 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 for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities across the country. In addition, the department also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, when authorized by federal court order. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Acts and the 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. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws 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.