Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON-  U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey last week urging him to ensure a fair election process.

 

The Senators noted a recent report that several attorneys in the Civil Rights Division may have been influenced by partisan political motivation when targeting fully legal political activities.  The Senators went on to express concern that at a symposium on elections, these same attorneys cited numerous examples of intimidation or suppression by Republicans, but failed to offer even one example of similar practices by Democrats.

 

“This omission is remarkable given the multiple claims of voter intimidation and vote suppression that supporters of Senator Obama and Clinton made against each other during this year’s Democratic primary,” wrote the Senators.

 

The Senators also expressed concern about the ability of the Department of Justice to adequately protect poll watchers and poll monitors from intimidation at polling places:

 

“…it is vital that the Department both ensure access to voting and that legitimate votes are not diluted by illegal votes.  Poll watchers and monitors do both; they not only watch the polls to protect against discrimination and undue influence, they help to deter and detect voter fraud and other illegal conduct.  Unfortunately, we have seen an ever increasing level of hostility and intimidation directed at these important players in the election process.”

 

Graham was joined on the letter by Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), Orin Hatch (R-Utah), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma).

 

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NOTE:

View Attorney General Muskasey's response to Senator Graham here.