DOJ Corrects Course: Election Monitors for Adams County Only; Douglas County Notice Sent in Error
The U.S. Department of Justice notified Colorado's Adams County and Douglas County this week that it would send federal election observers on Election Day, November 3 — but on Thursday, October 22, the department reversed itself, saying the notice to Douglas County had been sent in error, and apologized.
Colorado Public Radio, in a report updated on the afternoon of October 22, quoted Jack Bachand, an attorney in the Voting Section of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division: "The monitoring notice for Douglas County was sent in error and we apologize. We only plan on monitoring in Adams County." The department said Adams County was selected because it is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and must provide Spanish-language assistance; the observers will only watch and will not intervene in voting.
In an October 22 reply, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office asked the federal government to provide each observer's name, employer, title, agency component, email and phone number, along with the specific locations and approximate times to be observed, and said it is reviewing the request. Adams County is the most populous county in Colorado's 8th Congressional District, where Republican incumbent Gabe Evans faces Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel in a race rated a toss-up by multiple outlets, drawing added attention to the observer deployment.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：科罗拉多州议会大厦。摄影：Quintin Soloviev，CC BY 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: The Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
