The U.S. Justice Department is monitoring polling places in 51 counties in 23 states on Election Day. Officials are looking out for election fraud and possible violations of the federal voting rights laws. Several of those counties are in the Central and South Florida areas.
The federal Justice Department is monitoring what they’re calling seven jurisdictions in Florida. That includes Duval, Hendry, Lee, and Hillsborough counties. They’re also looking at Miami-Dade, Orange, and Osceola counties. University of South Florida Political Scientist Susan MacManus says there’s a reason for that.
“The counties have very high minority vote proportions of the total electorate," remarked McManus. "And, minorities are the key protected group, whether it’s a language minority or a racial ethnic, under the federal Voting Rights Act, which is why federal observers are coming in to observe the state’s compliance with federal laws.”
Federal observers and department personnel are monitoring more jurisdictions in Florida than in any of the other 23 states.
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