The Ministry of Justice released information on efforts to protect the right to vote, prosecute election fraud and ensure election security

WASHINGTON, DC. In accordance with long-standing DOJ practice and procedures, the department yesterday provided information on its efforts through the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the National Security Division (NSD) and U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to vote and receive counting their votes without discrimination, intimidation or criminal activity in the electoral process, and to ensure that our elections are secure and free from outside malicious influence and interference.

Department of Civil Rights

The Department’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing the civil provisions of federal laws that protect the right to vote and the criminal provisions of federal laws that prohibit discriminatory interference with that right. This work is often done in partnership with US Attorneys’ offices.

The Voting Section of the Division of Civil Rights enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal laws that protect the right to vote, including: the Voting Rights Act; Law on state registration of voters; Law on voting of citizens in uniform and abroad; Help America Vote Act; and Civil Rights Acts. Among other things, together these laws:

• Prohibit electoral practices that have either a discriminatory purpose or a discriminatory result because of race, color or linguistic minority status;
• Ban intimidation of voters;
• Allow voters who require assistance in voting due to a disability or inability to read or write to receive assistance from a person of their choice (other than representatives of their employer or trade union);
• Request election materials in minority languages ​​and assistance in certain jurisdictions;
• Require accessible voting systems for voters with disabilities;
• Require that provisional ballots be offered to voters who claim to be registered and eligible to vote in that jurisdiction but whose names are not on the election rolls;
• Require states to provide absentee voting for service members in uniform who are on duty away from home, their family members who are also away from home in connection with that service, and US citizens living abroad; and
• Require covered states to offer the option to register to vote through offices that provide driver’s licenses, public assistance and services for people with disabilities, and by mail, and take steps to maintain voter registration lists.

The Disability Rights Division of the Division of Civil Rights enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in voting based on disability. The ADA applies to all aspects of voting, including voter registration, the selection and availability of polling places, and the casting of ballots on Election Day or during early voting, both in person and absentee.

The Criminal Division of the Civil Rights Division enforces federal criminal laws that prohibit voter intimidation and election interference based on race, color, national origin, or religion.

• Throughout the election cycle, Civil Rights Division attorneys from the Voting, Disability Rights, and Criminal Divisions in Washington, D.C. will be available to receive complaints about potential violations of any laws that the Civil Rights Division enforces. The Civil Rights Division will work closely with colleagues in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other departments within the Department to review these complaints and take appropriate action.
• Individuals complaining of possible violations of federal voting rights laws may call the Department of Justice’s toll-free hotline at 800-253-3931 or file a complaint at www.civilrights.justice.gov.
• Individuals with questions or complaints about the ADA may call the Department of Justice’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or file a complaint through the link on the Department’s ADA website at www.ada.gov.

Complaints involving violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at the polls should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911. This should also be reported to the department after contacting local authorities.

Criminal Division and 94 US Attorney’s Offices

The Department’s Criminal Division oversees compliance with federal laws that criminalize certain forms of election fraud and protect the integrity of the federal election process.

The Division of Criminal Integrity and the offices of U.S. Attorneys are responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election crimes, such as ballot destruction, vote bribery, multiple voting, submission of false ballots or registrations, vote tampering, and postal malfeasance. or election officials and employees. see Justice Manual 9-85.210 (discussing election crime requirements); 9-85.300 (discussing approach to forgeries); 9-85.400 (discussing the application of 18 USC § 592); 9-85.500 (terms of action are being discussed).

The Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office are also responsible for enforcing federal criminal law that prohibits unlawful threats of violence against election officials and prohibits voter intimidation and voter suppression based on reasons other than race, color, national origin, or religion (as noted above ). , voter intimidation and suppression based on race, color, national origin, or religion is addressed by the Civil Rights Division, often in partnership with US Attorneys’ offices).

U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country appoint Assistant U.S. Attorneys to serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) in their respective counties. DEOs are responsible for monitoring potential election crimes in their districts and for coordinating with election crime experts in Washington, DC

The US Attorney’s Office works with specially trained FBI personnel in each district to ensure that complaints from the public about possible election crimes are properly handled. in particular:

• In consultation with federal prosecutors in the Office of Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., DEOs in U.S. Attorneys’ offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI special agents serving as anti-election coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices, will be on duty while polling stations are open to receive complaints from citizens.
• Election crime complaints should be directed to the local US Attorney’s office or local FBI office. A list of US Attorney offices and their phone numbers can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/districts. A list of FBI field offices and their phone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
• Office of Public Integrity prosecutors are prepared to consult and coordinate with the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI in the investigation of election crime allegations.

All complaints involving violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at the polls should first be reported to local police by calling 911. After reporting such emergencies to local law enforcement by calling 911, citizens should contact the Department of Justice .

Department of National Security

The Ministry’s National Security Division (NSD) oversees the investigation and prosecution of matters affecting or related to national security, including any matters involving foreign malicious influence and election interference or violent extremist threats to elections. In this context:

• The NSD oversees matters related to a range of acts of malicious influence that foreign governments may attempt.
• NSD’s counterintelligence and export control division oversees matters related to covert information operations (for example, the spread of disinformation through social media); covert attempts to support or denigrate political candidates or organizations; and other covert influence operations that may violate various criminal statutes.
• NSD’s National Cyber ​​Security Division oversees such cases when they involve cyber means (i.e. when online platforms such as social media and other online services are central to the commission of the offence), as well as those involving computer hacking of elections or campaign infrastructure.
• NSD’s Counterterrorism Division oversees matters related to international and domestic terrorism and supports law enforcement in preventing any acts of terrorism that affect Americans, including any violent extremism that may threaten election security.

As with past elections, the Homeland Security Division will work closely with colleagues in the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office to protect our nation’s elections from any threats to national security. National security lawyers will work with FBI headquarters units to provide support to US Attorneys’ offices and FBI field offices in countering any such threats. The Department of Homeland Security also plays an important role in protecting critical election infrastructure from cyber and other threats.

Complaints involving violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at the polls should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911 and, after contacting local authorities, also to the department.

Protecting the right to vote, prosecuting election crimes, and securing our elections are all essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. The Department encourages anyone with information regarding problems in these subject areas to contact the appropriate authorities.

For more information on the department’s work to enforce federal civil and criminal voting-related laws, visit www.justice.gov/voting and www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-pin/election-crimes-branch.