US Watches For Election Bias In Hamtramck, Detroit
HAMTRAMCK (WWJ/AP) - The U.S. Justice Department says it will monitor Tuesday's elections in Hamtramck and Detroit to protect against discrimination "on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group."
The department said monitoring also will take place in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties in Ohio and Orange County in New York.
The federal government announced the monitoring Monday. It didn't cite specific reasons for the selection of these six communities for election day scrutiny.
The Detroit enclave of Hamtramck has been under Justice Department monitoring in the past because of complaints of discrimination against Arab-American voters dating back to the 1999 election.
WWJ's Charlie Langton said some Detroiters are also worried that their votes won't be counted.
"Detroit voters are concerned their votes won't count, particularly in light of the primary where some 20,000 votes were tossed out over procedural irregularities," he said.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Justice Department personnel will also monitor survey polling sites in Flint to ensure compliance with a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure access for all voters, including those with disabilities.
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