The US Department of Justice announced on Monday its plan for the upcoming Election Day. The Civil Rights Division plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws by deploying personnel to 35 jurisdictions across 19 states.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the efforts are aimed “to protect the rights of millions of Americans to cast their vote unimpeded at one of more than 170,000 precincts across America.”

While state and local governments are primarily responsible for managing the election process, the Civil Rights Division has monitored many elections, since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The press release details that the focus of the division on Election Day is to:

gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act; whether jurisdictions permit a voter to receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter has a disability or is unable to read or write; whether jurisdictions provide polling locations and voting systems allowing voters with disabilities to cast a private and independent ballot; whether jurisdictions comply with the voter registration list requirements of the National Voter Registration Act; and whether jurisdictions comply with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act.  Division personnel will also maintain contact with local election officials.

The Civil Rights Division has three sections devoted to investigating reports on Election Day.  The “Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Acts.”

Whereas, the “Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote,” and the “Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.”

On Election Day, the Civil Rights Division will have staff available to receive complaints from the public regarding possible violations of federal voting rights laws. Complaints can be reported at (1-800-253-3931 toll free, or 202-307-2767 or TTY 202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may report complaints by fax to (202-307-3961), by email, and by a complaint form on the DOJ’s website.

Allegations of election fraud are also investigated by the 94 US Attorneys’ Offices across the country. Complaints may be directed to any local US Attorneys’ Office or to any local FBI office.

The DOJ urges anyone experiencing a disruption at a polling place to contact local election officials but warns that any reports of violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be immediately reported to local authorities by dialing 911, before reporting to the DOJ.