NASHVILLE, Tenn.- On Tuesday there will be even more people at the polls than expected here in Davidson County. Officials with the US Justice Department will in town watching the vote.
The Justice Department announced Friday that the Civil Rights Division plans to deploy more than 780 federal observers to 23 states to monitor the general election. Davidson County and Shelby Counties are two of 51 places where the nation's top law-enforcement agency plans to station observers.
The observers will be looking for information to see if voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.
On Election Day, federal observers will monitor polling place activities in 17 jurisdictions:
- Russell County, Ala.;
- Maricopa County, Ariz.;
- Alameda County, Calif.;
- Riverside County, Calif.;
- Randolph County , G a.;
- East Carroll Parish, La.;
- Panola County, Miss.;
- Colfax County, Neb.;
- Sandoval County, N.M.;
- Orange County, N.Y.;
- Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
- Lorain County, Ohio;
- Williamsburg County, S.C.;
- Shannon County ; S.D.;
- Dallas County, Texas;
- Fort Bend County, Texas; and
- Jefferson County, Texas.
Justice Department personnel will monitor the election in an additional 34 jurisdictions:
- Mobile County, Ala. ;
- Pima County, Ariz.;
- Arapahoe County, Colo.;
- Denver;
- Duval County, Fla.;
- Hendry County , Fl a.;
- Hillsborough County, Fla.;
- Lee County, Fla.;
- Miami-Dade County, Fla.;
- Orange County, Fla.;
- Osceola County, Fla.;
- Chicago & Cook County, Ill.;
- LaPorte County, Ind.;
- Finney County, Kan.;
- Detroit & Hamtramck, Mich.;
- Alamance County, N.C.;
- Wake County, N.C.;
- Bernalillo County, N.M.;
- Cibola County, N.M.;
- Queens County, N.Y.;
- Franklin County, Ohio;
- Hamilton County, Ohio;
- Allegheny County, Pa.;
- Chester County, Pa.;
- Delaware County, Pa.;
- Lehigh County, Pa.;
- Philadelphia ;
- Richland County, S.C.;
- Davidson County, Tenn.;
- Shelby County , Tenn. ;
- Harris County, Texas; and
- Milwaukee
