Federal observers sent to monitor Randolph County elections

The U.S. Department of Justice will monitor the primary runoff elections in Randolph County on Tuesday to ensure that voters have access to the polls. The department's Civil Rights Division sends out hundreds of observers and attorneys to monitor elections around the country each year as a provision of the Voting Rights Act. Officials decided to send monitors to Randolph this year because of complaints by citizens and local officials of racial tensions in the southwest Georgia county, the Justice Department said. In 2003, they sent 380 federal observers and 136 department personnel to monitor 42 elections in 14 states. [more]