WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor polling place activities for compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 during the Dec. 1, 2009, municipal run-off election in Union Point, Ga.

The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race. It also allows voters who have difficulty reading or who have a disability to receive assistance from persons of their choice, with the exception of their employers or union officials. Attorneys from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931. More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

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http://www.justice.gov