The Department of Justice has doubled the number of cities in Michigan it will monitor for compliance with federal voting rights laws compared to the 2016 election, Newsweek reports.
Although the department plans to monitor fewer jurisdictions and states in this election, 44 jurisdictions in 18 states, compared to 2016, when it watched 67 jurisdictions in 28 states. But this year, the DoJ plans to send personnel to seven cities in Michigan, compared to only three in 2016. The cities it will monitor this year include Detroit, Eastpointe, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Jackson, and Shelby Township. In 2016, the department only sent personnel to Detroit, Hamtramck, and Dearborn Heights.
"Every federal election year, the Department makes a new assessment of where the Department should be, and sends out staff based on that assessment for that year," a spokesperson for the department told Newsweek, when asked about Michigan.
"Our federal laws protect the right of all American citizens to vote without suffering discrimination, intimidation, and harassment," Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement Monday. "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."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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