The Reach of the Civil Rights Law

For John, BLUF:  The Feds come to Lowell for the Election.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Mill City one of 44 U.S. jurisdictions to be monitored for voting rights compliance

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Reporter Alana Melanson, 2 November 2020.

Here is the lede plus two:

The city is one of 44 jurisdictions in 18 states the U.S. Department of Justice will monitor for compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day.

“Federal law entrusts the Civil Rights Division with protecting the right to vote for all Americans,” Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a Monday statement announcing the locations to be monitored.  “Our federal laws protect the right of all American citizens to vote without suffering discrimination, intimidation and harassment.  The work of the Civil Rights Division around each federal general election is a continuation of its historical mission to ensure that all of our citizens can freely exercise this most fundamental American right.”

The Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored a variety of elections since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to protect citizens’ rights to access the ballot.  The Justice Department will also take complaints from the public on possible voting rights violations through its call center.

Then the reporter goes off to discuss the lawsuit by a number of Asian-Americans and Hispanics to force the City of Lowell to change from an at large City Council to one that has Districts electing the majority of Councillors.  Then she gets back to the details of the Feds snooping around in how we conduct elections.

I know the folks in the Lowell Election Office and several on the Election Commission.  Based on my interaction with them, I am insulted that the Feds are here and not Lawrence or down in Philadelphia.  As a taxpayer, I wonder who is managing the employment of my tax dollars.

Hat tip to the MASSterList.

Regards  —  Cliff