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Feds will send fewer election observers

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Free Vulcan:
WASHINGTON — National and local civil rights groups are worried about the Justice Department's plan to send fewer federal observers to watch for election irregularities in states, including many in the South.

“We’re gravely concerned about what’s going to happen on Election Day ... without the eyes and ears of the federal government in place,’’ said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently announced the Justice Department will send fewer federal election observers this fall. The change is one of several in the wake of a 2013 Supreme Court decision — Shelby County v. Holder — that threw out a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The provision determined which states and other jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination had to obtain "pre-clearance" from federal officials before making any election changes. Most of the states were in the South, including Louisiana and Mississippi. This will be the first presidential election without the provision...

Read more at: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/29/feds-send-fewer-election-observers/91171670/

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