Election 2008
(2008-09-14)
The Justice Department is pledging to send hundreds of election monitors around the country to help ensure access to the polls in November.
Civil rights groups are afraid that an unprecedented turnout of minority voters due to Barack Obama's candidacy might be countered by efforts to intimidate or otherwise block people who seek to cast
their ballots.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey and other Justice officials met with over 40 representatives from voter access watchdogs, hoping to assure them that having a smooth November 4th election is a priority.
But Justice Department officials acknowledge that they have limited power to enforce election laws.
Some people who attended the 90-minute meeting gave it a mixed review, describing department officials as promising to protect voters' rights but noting they failed to take steps to prevent problems in the past.
© Copyright 2010, Associated Press
