Wednesday, October 30

How to protect your vote and report electoral fraud this November 5

Choosing the government option or a certain candidate that best suits the interests of each American citizen is a right and must be respected.

Therefore, the Department of Justice announced, through the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the National Security Division (NSD) and the United States Attorney’s Offices throughout the country, how it can ensure that all Qualified citizens have the opportunity to cast their vote and have it counted free of discrimination, intimidation or criminal activity during the electoral process that will take place on Tuesday, November 5.

In this regard, the Department’s Civil Rights Division is charged with ensuring compliance with the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote and the criminal provisions of federal statutes that prohibit discriminatory interference with voting rights. the right to elect a political party or candidate.

Citizens should know that there is a set of laws created to guarantee the right of citizens to choose a candidate or party.

Some of them are: the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Voting Rights Acts. Civilians.

Fundamentally, these legal systems focus on:

• Prohibit electoral practices that have a discriminatory purpose or result based on race, color, or linguistic minority status.

• Prohibit voter intimidation.

• Allow voters who need assistance in voting due to a disability or inability to read or write to receive assistance from a person of their choice.

• Require voting materials and assistance in minority languages ​​in certain jurisdictions;

• Require accessible voting systems for voters with disabilities;

• Require provisional ballots to be offered to voters who claim to be registered and eligible to vote in the jurisdiction, but whose names do not appear in the poll books.

• Require states to allow absentee voting for uniformed service members • serving away from home and U.S. citizens living abroad.

• Require covered states to offer the opportunity to register to vote through offices that provide driver’s licenses, public assistance, and disability services, as well as by mail, and to take steps to maintain voter registration lists.

The Department of Justice will ensure that each citizen’s vote is respected in order to guarantee the transparency of the elections. (Credit: Octavio Guzmán / EFE)

Complaints or complaints

Another important point that citizens should know is that, throughout the election cycle, the lawyers of the Civil Rights Division in the Voting, Disability Rights and Criminal Sections in Washington, DC, will be ready to receive complaints of possible violations of any of the statutes enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

In this way, anyone interested in reporting possible violations of federal voting rights laws can call the Department of Justice’s toll-free telephone line at 800-253-3931, or do so in writing by visiting the page: http:/ /www.civilrights.justice.gov.

With respect to complaints involving violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place, local authorities should always be notified immediately by calling 911.

In defense of the law

To ensure that the electoral process proceeds without any anomaly, the department’s Criminal Division monitors the application of federal laws that criminalize certain forms of electoral fraud and vindicate the integrity of the federal electoral process.

Through the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division and the United States Attorney’s Offices, federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election crimes, such as ballot destruction, vote buying, voting, are enforced. multiple ballots, the submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, the alteration of votes and misconduct by postal or electoral officials and employees

Another of its functions involves enforcing federal criminal law that prohibits unlawful threats of violence against election workers and prohibits intimidation and suppression of voters for reasons other than race, color, national origin or religion.

Thus, if any citizen is interested in filing complaints for electoral crimes, they should contact the local United States Attorney’s Office or the local FBI office.

To find out the location or telephone number of the nearest Prosecutor’s Office, visit the page: www.justice.gov/usao/districts.

For local FBI offices and their telephone numbers, the corresponding information can be obtained by consulting the address: www.fbi.gov/contact-us.

On the other hand, in the event that any citizen becomes aware of any incident related to the intervention of any incident that affects or is related to national security, including all cases involving malicious foreign influences and interference in elections or violent extremist threats to elections, then you can contact the staff of the Department’s National Security Division (NSD), as they investigate such complaints there.

All the channels described are enabled with the objective of maintaining citizen confidence in the American democratic system.

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